The Life and Times of Trixie
by tillerian
Summary: This chronicles the sad life of the Great and Powerful Trixie. Taking place before and after "Boast Busters". Is Trixie truely a self-centered unicorn pony, or is there something more complicated going on with her? Read and Review Please!
1. Trixie's Childhood

The Life and Times of Trixie

Part 1: Trixie's Childhood

Trixie was a powdery blue unicorn with a white mane. She was born and raised in the big city of Canterlot; the capital of Equestria and home of its princess. Canterlot was a royal place filled with high esteemed unicorns who mainly learned the art of magic. Trixie, however, lived close to the boundaries of the magical city, so she didn't really know many high esteemed unicorns.

Trixie didn't have many friends and she didn't come from a very pleasant home; she lived with a single mother who did not make much money. She had always wished her mother would pay more attention to her, but she was always put work before her and would never do anything with her. Trixie had learned to accept this fact and try to have big dreams of her future. The only friend that she had was Bunny. Bunny was just a worn out, stitched up stuffed doll that she had made herself. She made him as a project in preschool the year before. Even though he was a lifeless object, to Trixie, he was alive enough.

Our story begins on a playground at the schoolhouse during a cloudless spring afternoon. The red wooden schoolhouse was not at all very big as only ten to fifteen fillies attended. Aside from the bathroom, it only had one room. The playground behind it was almost bigger than the schoolhouse itself. Young fillies were sliding down the giant slide, climbing on the jungle gym, and swinging on a long swing set that stretched from one end of the playground to the other. Right next to it was a small sandbox where five year old Trixie was playing by herself with her doll. She was busy with a toy bucket and shovel surrounding herself with mounds of dirt.

"Look, Bunny!" she said to her doll with a smile as she dropped the shovel in the sand, "Look at all the castles! We must be in a magical land of princesses!" She looked at her doll with eyes of wonder, "I wish I was a princess…"

It was then that three other unicorns trotted over to little Trixie. They looked down at her, giggling at each other. The white unicorn stood in the middle, she had a blonde mane and purple eyes; she went by Regal Romance. To her right was a pink unicorn with a blonde mane and blue eyes, she went by Flourish Twinkle. To the white unicorn's left was a green unicorn with a purple mane and yellow eyes, she went by Nimble Flash.

Regal looked at her with an unpleasant smirk as the two unicorns next to her snickered in amusement as the young and naïve Trixie welcomed them with a smile.

"Look at the widdle baby!" said Regal, "She thinks she's on the beach!"

"Well… actually, I'm pretending I'm in a land with castles." Trixie corrected her.

"Oh, wow! That's so dorky!" said Flourish with a snicker.

"Yeah! Everypony knows there's only one castle in Equestria!" said Nimble, "And that's where the princess herself lives!"

Trixie innocently looked up and said, "Do you want to play with me?"

"With you?" the astonished white unicorn said, "As if! Dork!"

"I'll let you play with Bunny." Trixie said showing them her well-loved doll.

"That is the ugliest doll I've ever seen!" Nimble said in disgust.

"Yeah! It belongs in the trash!" said Regal.

The girls giggled to each other and the heartbroken Trixie sat in the sand looking at her doll in shame. Suddenly, the teacher blew her whistle.

"Alright, children, recess is over! Everypony inside!" she shouted.

"Come on, girls, let's go." Said the white unicorn.

"Loser!" Nimble said.

As the other unicorns in the playground all gathered inside; Trixie sat in the sand staring at her worn down doll with a frown. She gave the doll a hug and softly said, "I think you're special."

"Trixie! Come on! Recess is over! You can play with your doll later!" the teacher called.

The blue unicorn slowly got up and placed the bunny on her back and slowly joined the other unicorns inside the schoolhouse.

* * *

><p>That evening at Trixie's home, little Trixie and her mother were sitting at the table eating their dinner.<p>

Their home was not very big. It seemed as if it was only large enough to barely the two that already live inside of it. As soon as one were to walk into the door, they would see the kitchen, dining room table, couch, television, and laundry room were all crammed together in one small room. There was also a small hallway that had both rooms on either side.

Trixie's bunny doll sat on her lap at the table. Her mother sat across from her, using her magic to eat the food off her plate. Trixie frowned at the plate of grass placed before her in dead silence. Finally, Trixie looked up at her mother and said, "Mommy…"

"What is it, hon?" Her mother replied, her fork full of grass levitating in front of her.

"Where's daddy?" Trixie asked.

Trixie's mother sighed and placed the fork on her plate and said, "I don't know, Trixie. It's been years since I last saw him."

The disappointed foal frowned at her plate once again. Without looking up, she asked quietly, "Does daddy love me?"

"I… don't think he knows you exist, honey…" her mother replied.

Distraught by this information, Trixie felt choked up inside. Without saying anything further, she ate her food and slipped into her room with her bunny doll on her back.

Trixie's room was rather small; it had the usual things that a bedroom would have: dresser, desk, closet, an almost empty toy box, and a small, slightly comfortable bed. Her walls decorated with many drawings that she drew (albeit poorly). There was nothing fancy about this bedroom, only the bare essentials.

The depressed filly kissed her beloved doll goodnight and slipped into slumber.

* * *

><p>It was Christmas in Equestria! All the decorations were up all over Canterlot, it was snowing outside, and every pony was happy. Even Trixie was quite excited over the Christmas season; for she had been planning something very special all season. At school, she wore a big smile on her face as she trotted around the classroom carrying baskets on both of her sides. She walked to the three unicorns who were standing around a desk chatting with each other.<p>

"Hey, guys!" Trixie said with a smile.

"What do you want?" Regal rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Merry Christmas!" she said happily.

"Um… thanks?" Nimble replied with a confused look on her face.

Trixie giggled as she pulled out three cards out of the basket and gave each unicorn one.

"I'm having a Christmas party at my house tonight! Wanna come?" she asked.

"Oh… I don't know…" said Flourish rubbing the back of her neck, "I might have plans."

"Yeah… we might be busy tonight." said Nimble.

"Oh, please!" Trixie begged bouncing up and down, "It's going to be a lot of fun! I promise!"

"Er… we'll see about it…" said Flourish.

"Okay!" Trixie said with excitement.

Trixie trotted away happily to invite more classmates to her party. Regal and Nimble glared at each other with disgust; Flourish, on the other hand, watched as the happy unicorn bounced around giving her classmates invitations. She looked at her invitation with sorrow.

"We've got better things to do than hang out with her!" said Regal tossing her card away in disgust.

"Well… she does seem kind of excited about it." Flourish said, "Why don't we at least stop by."

"You wanna go to a dork party?" Nimble said with a look of shock on her face, "What's wrong with you, Flourish?"

"It's just a suggestion…" said Flourish nervously.

"Well, it's not a very good one!" Regal said snatching the invitation away from the pink unicorn and throwing it away, "Besides, you're coming to my Christmas party, remember?"

"Oh, yeah…" Flourish surrendered, "I'm sorry, I forgot."

"It's okay, Flourish. You wouldn't've had a lot of fun at her party anyway." Regal said as she snatched away Nimble's invitation and threw it away.

"I just hope someone goes to her party… she seems awful lonely…" Flourish silently said to herself.

* * *

><p>Later on that night, Trixie finished setting up decorations for the party. She had cookies and games set up and a banner that said "Merry Christmas". The highlight of the room was a small Christmas tree that sat in the corner of the room. It had a few lights strung around it, half of which were broken, and a few ornaments that hung from the branches. Bunny sat on the table wearing a small birthday cap. As soon as she finished setting up, the excited unicorn sat down on the chair waiting for other ponies to show up to her party.<p>

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Hours passed and she still waited.

Trixie slouched down in her chair with Bunny cuddled up in her arms. She was completely bored of sitting in the same spot. Suddenly, she perked up as she saw the knob to the front door turn. Trixie's excitement immediately returned as she bounced out of her chair and happily hopped over to the door. The door opened up and it was tired her mother coming home from work. Despite this letdown, Trixie was still quite excited.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" she said happily bouncing up and down with excitement, "You're just in time for my Christmas Party! I made cookies and games and-"

"Oh, Trixie…" her mother interrupted, "I can't. I had a very rough day at work. Mommy just wants to lie on the couch and relax."

Trixie frowned as she watched her mother went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of vodka, then collapsed on the couch.

"Trixie, please clean this mess up." Her mother said.

Heartbroken and dismayed, Trixie did as her mother said and cleaned up. She took down the banner, put away the games, and threw away the cookies. Then, she quietly dragged her bunny doll into her room and went to bed. She tucked in her bunny doll next to her and quietly whispered, "Merry Christmas, Trixie…"

* * *

><p>The next year, Trixie, now six, was sitting at her classroom desk. She was watching the three unicorns chatting to each other. She noticed something on Regal's flank. It was a picture of a needle and thread. It didn't take long to realize that it was her cutie mark! Then, she looked at the other two unicorns and saw they had cutie marks, too! In fact, she noticed most of the class had cutie marks as well.<p>

"I know!" Regal said showing off her cutie mark with pride, "I was just sewing it back together, and I found out how fun it was! I started sewing some more and more and then, there it was!"

"Oh wow, Regal!" said Flourish happy for her friend, "Same with me! I just couldn't get enough of cooking! I just love it so much!"

Trixie looked down and her flank and saw nothing was there. She frowned at her flank in shame wishing she knew what her special talent was. As she was thinking about it, the three unicorns walked up to her; presumably so that Regal could show off her cutie mark to her.

"Hey, dork, what're you up to?" said Nimble with a snide grin.

"Oh… I'm just… sitting…" Trixie said, placing her hooves to her side hoping to cover up her flank.

"Do you have a cutie mark?" said Flourish with a smile.

"Oh… why would you ask that?" Trixie said with a nervous smile, "Did you get your cutie marks?"

"We sure did!" said Regal boastfully showing off her flank, "What's yours?"

"Oh… it's not all that special…" Trixie responded pressing her hooves against her side praying they couldn't see it.

"So, you have your cutie mark?" Nimble asked suspiciously.

"Why… of course! I mean… who doesn't have their cutie mark at this age?" Trixie nervously replied and laughed uncomfortably.

"Then show us!" said Nimble.

They started reaching for her hooves. Trixie was so frightened by being shunned by her peers again that she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind: "TOY MAKING!" This caused the three unicorns to back off a bit.

"Toy making?" Flourish said astonishingly.

"Um… yes! Toy making!" Trixie continued her little lie, "I'm good at making toys."

"You're not good at that!" Nimble responded bluntly, "That bunny doll that you always carry around is horrible! And YOU made that!"

"Well…" Trixie said pretending to shift her focus to something on the floor, "I've been practicing since then…"

"Then show us your cutie mark!" Regal demanded.

"You don't wanna do that. It's not very good looking." Trixie said hoping they'd go away.

"Girls!" Regal commanded.

Suddenly, Nimble and Flourish went on both sides of her and started pulling her hooves away. The outnumbered unicorn tried with all her might to keep her hooves at her side. Unfortunately, Nimble proved stronger and eventually pulled her hoof above her head and had clear view of Trixie's nonexistent cutie mark.

"Hey! She ain't got no cutie mark!" Nimble shouted so that all the room could hear.

"Really?" Regal said rushing closer to have a look, "Oh wow! Not only are you a dork, but you're a dork with no talent! You're a blank flank!" She then started laughing at her.

"Uh… I think that's enough, Regal…" Flourish said putting her hoof on Regal's back, "Not everypony has their cutie mark at this age."

Ignoring Flourish's protests, Regal spun around and shouted, "Hey, everypony! Trixie's a blank flank!"

Everyone in the classroom then started to huddle around Trixie to see her blank flank. Some of them chatted to each other, while others laughed. Trixie felt very uncomfortable as they all mocked and ridiculed her; she had never felt so humiliated in her life! She wanted to cry, but she knew that if she did, it would make everything worse. She bit her lip trying to fight the tears. Thankfully, the teacher walked into the classroom with a stack of books floating beside her. With her entrance, all the fillies quieted down and began to retreat to their desks.

"Okay, children, take your seats!" she proclaimed walking in, placing a stack of books on the table, "Today, we'll be learning more addition!" She wrote down a problem on the board, "Now, as a review from yesterday, who can give me the answer to this?"

Trixie immediately raise her shaking hoof and the teacher pointed at her and said "Yes, Trixie?"

"Can… I… use… the… bathroom…" Trixie said still trying to fight the tears.

"Oh, alright, go ahead." The teacher replied.

Trixie immediately ran into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror and let it all out. She sobbed uncontrollably and couldn't seem to stop. She didn't know if anybody outside could hear her, but at this point, she didn't care. After she was done crying for several minutes, she left the bathroom and slowly sat down on her desk to listen to what the teacher had to say.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, the teacher was discussing a poem written on the board giving a lesson. Most of the students were bored with class and wanted the day to finish up so they could go home and play.<p>

"And this is one of many poems that rhyme ABAB. I want you all to write me a poem that has this rhyme scheme. Remember it must be school appropriate! AB… AB…" she looked up at the clock and said, "Oh my! Look at the time! Class dismissed!"

All the ponies jumped out of their desks with joy and rushed out the door.

"I want those poems tomorrow morning! Don't forget!" The teacher called as a sea of cheering fillies rushed before her.

As soon as they were all gone, she gave a deep sigh and started erasing the board humming to herself. She turned around and saw Trixie still sitting at her desk with a glum look on her face.

"Oh, Trixie!" she said in surprise, "Are you still here?"

Trixie didn't answer. The teacher pulled up a stool and patted the top of it and said, "Come here, have a seat."

Trixie slipped out of her desk and slowly walked to the front of the class. She obediently climbed on top of the stool and sat down.

"What's the matter, Trixie?" the teacher asked.

Trixie didn't answer. Instead, she just shuffled her hoofs on the stool and whimpered.

"Does it have to do with you crying in the bathroom this morning?" the teacher asked.

"You heard that?" Trixie said quietly.

"Yes, dear, we all heard it." The teacher replied.

Now, Trixie was a little embarrassed. She looked down on the floor.

"Did those girls make fun of you again?" the teacher asked. It was as if she knew what happened.

"Mm-hm…" Trixie nodded shamefully.

"What what was it this time?" the teacher said with a melancholy sigh.

Trixie sat there quietly for a few moments, but then turned to her teacher and asked, "Am I special?"

"Oh, of course, sweetie, everypony is special in their own way!" the teacher responded with a smile, "That's how we get our cutie marks." Then, it finally hit her, "You don't have your cutie mark, do you?"

Trixie only replied by showing her teacher her blank flank. The teacher looked at it and smiled.

"Trixie…" the teacher said placing a hoof on the embarrassed filly's back, "It's okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes, cutie marks come a little later in life. Someday, yours will come, too. You just need to try hard to find your special talent."

"I do?" Trixie said looking at her teacher with teary eyes.

"Yes… feel better?" said the teacher.

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you." Trixie said a little more encouraged.

"Good. Now go on home, alright?" said the teacher.

Trixie nodded with a smile and trotted on home. She knew she had to find her cutie mark fast.

* * *

><p>For the next few months, Trixie started doing different things to find her cutie mark. She tried all sorts of things: cooking, cleaning, sewing, sports, carpeting, fashion, and many other things. Though some ponies may have said that she couldn't do it, she was very determined to find her special talent.<p>

One night, she was sitting outside of her house. It was a cloudless, starry night and the moon was shining in the sky. Trixie looked up at the moon and decided to try magic. She took a deep breath and focused all her will. She focused and focuses and focused. Her horn started to light up with energy. An image popped up into her mind as to what she could be doing. She tried and tried and tried. Her horn glowed brightly. Then, there was a loud "POOF" that almost frightened the young foal! Trixie looked up and saw a rose floating before her, glistening in the moonlight. She looked at the rose in awe; it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She knew right then and there that she made that rose appear.

She smiled and looked down at her flank; she was shocked to see what she found. It was her cutie mark! It was an image of a wand creating sparkles in the shape of a crescent moon. Trixie was so excited! She finally found her special talent!

Trixie raced inside the house taking the rose with her. She ran up to her mother who was lying on the couch with a bottle of vodka in her hooves.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Look!" Trixie said excitedly bouncing up and down.

"What is it, Trixie?" Her mother said curious as to what her daughter was excited about.

"I got my cutie mark! I got my cutie mark! Look!" Trixie said showing her the cutie mark.

Trixie's mother sat there in silence with an astonished look on her face.

"How did you get that?" she asked.

"I made a rose appear!" Trixie said showing off the flower to her mother.

"So, your special talent is magic?" Trixie's mother said.

"Uh-huh!" Trixie said with a smile.

"Trixie…" her mother smiled, "Good job. I'm… proud of you."

Trixie then stopped bouncing and dropped the rose. She stared at her mother in disbelief as her mother never said that to her before. She felt tears flood down her face, she was so happy to have finally made her mother proud. It was the first time she ever felt love from her own mother.

"M-Mommy…" Trixie said through her tears.

"What is it, honey?" Her mother asked.

"I… I love you…" Trixie said.

Trixie's mother smiled. Trixie then climbed up on the couch and cuddled up with her mother. It was a very happy night for her; Trixie was so proud of herself. Not only did she find her special talent, but she made her mother proud at last.

* * *

><p>For the rest of the year, Trixie spent countless hours trying to perfect her magic and experiment with new spells. She got books from the library and read them every night. Whenever she got discouraged, she would look at her rose as a reminder of what she could do.<p>

Trixie never gave up at learning new spells. She kept honing her magic skills with fierce determination. She knew that she had to be the best magic user she could be.

One winter day, she learned that a magic academy, known as Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, was accepting applications in the summer of that year. So, the seven year old filly tried even harder to accomplish this new goal and practiced every day.

The long awaited day finally came and Trixie felt she was ready to take the entrance exam. She packed a light bag for the trip: a toothbrush, a comb, even her rose. She debated as to whether she should bring Bunny along with her, but ultimately decided to leave him behind and take care of herself. As she was about to walk out the door, her mother approached her.

"Trixie? Where are you going?" her confused mother asked.

Trixie realized that she had forgotten to tell her mother about the academy and guessed that now was the best time.

"I'm going to the magic academy, Mom." She said with a confident smile, "I've been practicing for months now… and… I think I'm ready to do it!"

"Trixie! You can't go!" her mother said in surprise.

"Why not?" Trixie's smile vanished and was replaced with shock and dismay.

"Because it's not for you." Trixie's mother explained, "I don't want you to get hurt out there. The world is a cruel place, Trixie! You're way too young to go out on your own!"

"I don't believe it!" Trixie said in frustration, "Why can't you support me? You're my mom! This is what I want to do! And… and you can't even say 'good luck'?"

"Don't use that tone at me, young lady!"

"No! I'm sick of this! You never did anything for me!" Trixie retaliated; it was as if all her built up frustration about her mother had finally come out all at once, "I tried everything I could to be with you; to be a good daughter! You never helped me with any of my problems! You never even said you loved me! I don't even think you care about me! I'm going to that academy whether you like it or not! And I'm going to succeed! I'm going to be the greatest magic user ever!"

"Trixie! Enough! Please! You don't understand!" Trixie's mother pleaded, "I do love you! I just don't want you to get hurt!"

"I HATE YOU!" Trixie belted out in anger, "And someday, I'm gonna do something that'll make you proud! I SWEAR!"

Trixie turned around and stormed out the door slamming it behind her. She stomped away from her home never once looking back. She went for miles and miles; but every step she took she got slower and slower. She felt that she had hurt her poor mother.

Finally she stopped, for she could no longer hold back her tears; she huddled up into a corner and cried. She wished that she never said the things she said to her mother. She cried for a few hours before realizing that she shouldn't give up. She had to get into the academy to prove to her mother that she was talented with magic. Trixie dried her tears and continued on.

* * *

><p>Trixie continued on until she finally made it to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She gave herself a deep breath.<p>

"Okay, Trixie… this is it. This is what you've been practicing for!" She said to herself confidently.

She looked at the building and nervously walked inside. The lobby was filled with fillies her age; most of which were sitting with their parents. Trixie put on a bold face and trotted up to the desk where a yellow unicorn with a green mane was signing in names. The yellow unicorn looked down at Trixie with a smile.

"Hello, there, little one." She said with a friendly voice, "Are you here to apply to the academy?"

"Yes, ma'am." Trixie responded trying to hide her nervousness.

"Okay, what's your name?" the unicorn asked.

"Trixie, ma'am." she responded politely.

"Okay, Trixie. Why don't you sit over there with the others and wait until your name is called. We're going to test you to see if your magic skills are good enough."

Trixie did as the unicorn said and sat in the waiting room. She looked around and saw all the fillies waiting with their parents; which caused her to think about her mother. Did she do the right thing? Was her mother waiting for her? Was it too late to go back?

Trixie sat and waited for a few hours when another filly unicorn approached her. She was a purple unicorn with a dark purple mane with pink highlight and had a nervous smile on her face. Trixie was quite curious as to why this filly approached her.

"Hi! Are you here to take the entrance exam?" the purple unicorn asked.

"Uh… yes… I am…" Trixie said.

"Me, too!" she said happily.

The purple unicorn examined the blue unicorn. She seemed to be rather curious about her, which Trixie found rather odd; no one had ever been so interested in her before.

"What's wrong?" the purple unicorn asked.

"I… I'm just a bit nervous." Trixie responded honestly

"Don't be nervous!" the purple unicorn said with an encouraging smile, "You can do it! You have your cutie mark!"

Trixie looked down and noticed that the purple unicorn didn't have her cutie mark yet. Trixie found it a bit strange that a pony would apply for the academy without a cutie mark. Trixie felt a little sorry for her; yet, she didn't seem very nervous.

A yellow unicorn then came out from a room with a clipboard floating in front of her.

"Trixie?" she called out.

Trixie nervously looked at the floor and quietly said, "That's me…"

"Go on! Break a leg!" the purple unicorn said.

Trixie gave her an acknowledged smile and trotted into the room.

* * *

><p>Trixie stood up front in a classroom where four unicorns were sitting in the desks looking her over. She gave them a nervous smile.<p>

"Trixie, I presume?" said one unicorn.

"Uh… yes, ma'am." Trixie said nervously.

"All right, you shall begin the entrance exam." Said another unicorn.

Then, a pony came in with a big cart and pushed it in front of Trixie. On the cart lay a big egg nestled in the hay. She looked over it nervously.

"We want you to use your magic to hatch the egg." Said a unicorn.

Trixie gulped and nodded as the four unicorns raised their clipboards to write down their observations.

"Well, Miss Trixie, go on. Hatch the egg!" A unicorn said impatiently.

Trixie looked at the egg and gave herself a deep breath. Then, she gave the egg a determined stare. She tried to use her magic, she tried with all her might; sadly the egg didn't even move. She tried again even harder; her horn glowed brightly as she used every bit of energy she had, but still no luck. The unicorns looked at Trixie with boredom. Trixie tried to hatch that egg for an hour; trying every magic trick she knew.

Eventually, Trixie collapsed on the floor in fatigue. She was so worn out she couldn't even perform a simple levitation spell. She looked up at the egg in defeat as the unicorns wrote down their observations and went over them with each other. They talked to each other for a minute before walking down to Trixie and helped her up.

"I'm sorry, Miss Trixie." Said one unicorn, "You gave it your all, but it seems you're not what we're looking for."

"But… but…" Trixie pleaded, "Give me another chance! I can do it!"

"Listen, Miss Trixie… you're not very good at magic." Said another unicorn.

"But… my special talent is magic; I just need more time!" Trixie begged.

"I'm sorry, Miss Trixie, but we must kindly ask you to leave. Have a nice day." Said a unicorn.

Trixie was so destroyed at this; she really wasn't that good at magic? Distraught by this revelation, Trixie slowly walked out of the room with a frown; she didn't even acknowledge the purple unicorn who asked her how it went. She shamefully left the academy and never looked back.

* * *

><p>As Trixie wandered through the streets of Canterlot, she couldn't help but think what was to become of her now. She refused to go back home, not after that fight she had with her mother. She refused to go back defeated and decided instead to fend for herself.<p>

Trixie looked up at the sky and saw that not only was it getting dark, but the weather squad was sending rain clouds above the city. Droplets started to drip on her one by one. Trixie continued to walk on until it started pouring heavily, in which she rushed to a nearby alleyway to find shelter. She took cover under a sheet of newspapers. As the poor soul shivered in the cold, wet rain, she couldn't help but cry: she ran away from home, had her dreams crushed before her, and has nowhere left to go.

This marked an early end to Trixie's childhood. For the next couple of years of her life would be nothing but toil and hardships. The helpless filly tried to remain strong, but couldn't help but regret leaving her home.

To be continued…


	2. The Great and Powerful Trixie

Part 2: The Great and Powerful Trixie

From that point on, Trixe faced some hard times. She still did not return home and instead left Canterlot behind to find some ways to get money. She would go from town to town doing odd jobs here and there to make a living. There were some days where she would be hungry due to the lack of work. She didn't bother to get to know anybody and remained reserved to herself. She was afraid that someone would find her and bring her back home, which was the last place she wanted to go.

After over a decade of hard labor, she finally was able to afford a home of her own. It was just a small caravan with a built-in stage that was owned by a now-retired entertainer. This was perfect for Trixie as she moved from town to town. She decided to put her talent for magic to good use and entertain ponies all around Equestria. She had a tip jar at the edge of the stage for ponies to put money into for her. Though there was never a fortune in there, it was enough for her to make a living. It also helped her get better at her magic skills.

As a few more years went by, Trixie found herself in a life-changing situation.

* * *

><p>It was a cloudy autumn day as Trixie, now an adult, was finishing up one of her magic shows. She finished up one of her magic tricks which gave her a few claps from the audience.<p>

"Thank you!" Trixie said as she bowed respectfully, "That's all from me; I hope you have a wonderful day."

The ponies trotted off as Trixie cleaned up the stage and put it away. She walked back inside her caravan and began brushed her hair.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. Trixie was quite curious as she rarely got any visitors. She walked over and opened the top of the door. There was a colt dressed in black standing outside. He had a black mane that was slicked back neatly and was wearing sunglasses. He seemed to be of high class. He also happened to be a unicorn. Trixie looked at him with curiosity.

"Excuse me, are you Trixie, by chance?" the colt asked.

"Yes, that's me." Trixie responded.

"I wanted to say that I enjoyed your performance onstage. It was quite good." The colt said.

"Oh, thank you." The flattered magician said.

"May I come in, please? I have some troubling news for you." The colt said softly.

"Oh… of course." Trixie responded.

She opened the door and welcomed him inside. Trixie hopped on her bed to give him room. She used her magic to pull a chair up to him.

"Thank you." The colt responded as he sat in the chair.

Trixie looked at the colt waiting for him to tell her about the aforementioned news.

"Trixie, do you remember your mother?" the colt asked.

Trixie, as a matter of fact, more than remembered her mother; not a day went by without her thinking of her mother; all the memories that she had of her made her feel ashamed of herself for leaving her.

"What happened to my mother?" Trixie asked softly.

"I'm afraid she's passed away." The colt responded, "She was found dead in her house a few days ago. Physicians say that she died of a heart attack. We had to find you right away to tell you about it."

Trixie was distraught by this news: her own mother was dead. She felt very weak in her stomach.

"What was it like? Her last days." Trixie asked weakly.

"Very lonely, I'm afraid." The colt responded, "Her friends told us that she was waiting for somepony, waiting for you. She missed you so much. When you left, she spent countless years looking for you before finally giving up."

"Did… she… say anything?" Trixie said on the verge of tears.

"She wanted to say she was sorry to you. She was sorry for neglecting you for so many years. She wanted you to come home. She wanted to prove to you that she did love you. But you never came back; and now she's gone."

Trixie looked down at the floor ashamed of what she had just heard. The colt got up and sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry, Trixie. It's painful for me to say this to you." He said comfortingly, "I never wanted it to be this way. Her funeral is being held in Canterlot." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a note card, "Here's the address to where the funeral is taking place. Your mother would have wanted you to attend her funeral."

The colt handed her the note card and left the caravan. Trixie was so distraught by the news that she sobbed uncontrollably. She knew that now she had to go home to see her mother one last time. She could remember the last she saw of her: yelling at her and proclaiming how much she hated her mother. She never even said goodbye. Her last meeting with her was not very pleasant. She knew the least she could do was attend her funeral.

* * *

><p>Trixie travelled all the way to Canterlot, a place she hadn't been to in many years. When she made it to her hometown, she felt a nostalgic yet painful feeling about it; there were plenty of things in the town that had changed greatly, yet was still recognizable.<p>

Trixie mainly kept a low profile to avoid any unpleasant familiarities; however, there were some ponies that stared at her as if they knew who she was. Trixie eventually found herself at her old home. Absolutely nothing has changed about it, it was the exact same as she left it. When she walked inside, she immediately went to her room.

Her room was dusty showed signs of neglect and age, yet it was cleaned up neatly and organized as if frozen in time from her absence. Trixie immediately drew her attention to her old bunny doll that sat up against the pillows of her bed. In his patchy arms was a sign that read "Welcome home, Trixie". She walked up to her doll as if greeting an old friend. She picked him up and blew the dust off him. She felt weak reading the sign that he held; it was as if he was waiting for her all these years. Just by looking at him, she couldn't help but think about her mother sitting in the chair in the dining room, waiting for the door to open hoping it was her daughter.

Trixie spent the night sleeping in her old room. Half the night she stayed awake staring out the window. She felt so ashamed about leaving her mother that day and then failing to accomplish her goals. She despised that day like a curse. There were times where she thought about going back, but she believed it was well too late. All these thoughts rushing through her head caused her to finally go to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next cloudy afternoon, Trixie sat outside in the graveyard surrounded by all her mother's companions who also came to mourn for her passing. Her mother's lifeless body laid inside of a coffin that hovered over a giant hole in the ground in front of everybody, as a close friend of hers recited a eulogy. She looked around the room to see all the ponies mourning for her mother. She wondered if her father was somewhere in there; but she immediately dismissed the idea as it was unlikely. At this point, she had all but given up hope of ever finding her father.<p>

As the pony up front finished his parting words, the coffin that held Trixie's mother slowly descended into the ground, where it would remain for all eternity. Afterwards, a giant pile of dirt magically levitated and covered the underground coffin.

Afterwards, all the ponies began exchanging conversation to each other. Trixie sat alone not speaking to anyone regardless of whether she recognized them or not. After about an hour, the ponies started to scatter on home. Only Trixie remained behind.

Trixie walked up to the gravestone that had her mother's name etched on the surface. She stared at the gravestone for a few minutes. Her legs shook with grave sorrow as tears rolled down her face.

"Hi, Mom…" she said very weakly, "I'm home… just like you wanted me to be. I'm sorry I was gone for so many years. It's just that… I wanted to prove to you that I could do it… but… I can't… I really can't! I've barley made a living, I'm unsuccessful, I'm constantly hungry… I couldn't do it. You were right, the world is a cruel place. And now… I wish I came back, I wish I listened to you. I… I love you, Mom. I'm sorry I didn't say that before leaving you. I hope you heard me say that, because… I mean it. I really do. And… I'm sorry… Goodbye, Mom…"

Trixie walked away to leave her mother's grave in piece.

* * *

><p>The next day, Trixie and many other family members were sitting around at her old house. Trixie sat up against the wall away from everybody else as a pony sitting in the middle of the room was reading the will of her mother.<p>

"… I hope you take good care of it as well as I did." The pony read, "And to my beloved daughter, Trixie." Trixie perked up at the sound of her name, "If you are here to listen to this, please know that not a day went by without me thinking of you. I deeply regret that I did not pay as much attention to you as I should have. I had big dreams like you did when I was your age, but those dreams were crushed right before my eyes. I did not want the same to happen to you. Trixie, I leave you with my magician's hat and cape. I want you to become the greatest magic user to ever live. Please make me proud."

Trixie didn't say anything. She just walked up and saw the hat and cape sitting on the table. She looked at them; they were both purple and had a starry pattern on them. She picked them up and looked at them with sorrow. She couldn't help but feel like she let her mother down. Still, she decided to use the cape and hat for her shows. It was all that she had left from her mother, after all.

* * *

><p>That evening, Trixie was wandering through her hometown to get one last look at it before she left for good. She eventually found herself in the playground behind her old school. All the fillies had gone home for the day, so it was ghostly quiet. The playground, surprisingly, didn't change at all; in fact, it was as if it were only a day when Trixie saw it last.<p>

Trixie trotted over and looked at the sandbox she used to play in during her younger years. She could visualize herself as a filly sitting right in the middle. She could see herself sitting there with Bunny lying down next to her as she filled the toy bucket with sand and made a sand castle with it. Suddenly, she saw her filly self look at her and smile as if she could see her standing there.

"Don't you just wish you could go back in time… and fix all your problems?" the filly said.

Trixie was so shocked by this, she flinched back and blinked. But then, she saw that instead of her filly self sitting in the middle of a bunch of sand mounds, she saw a mysterious pony standing in the middle of the sandbox.

The pony was wearing a hooded cloak to hide her features, but she was wrapped in black bandages from head to hoof. Only one eye peered through the bandages and staring at her with little to no emotion.

"Y-you scared me there." Trixie said with a nervous smile.

The pony said nothing.

"Um… what are you doing here, anyway?" Trixie asked curiously.

"How shameful…" The mystery pony said. Her voice was soft almost to a whisper, "Your mother sitting in her home waiting for you, while you are out there working yourself to death… and all for nothing."

"Um… who are you?" Trixie said slightly frightened by the ominous being.

"You have no need to fear me, Trixie… I am… a friend." The pony said, "A friend who has watched you suffer endlessly."

"You've been watching me?" Trixie said, now curious.

"Oh yes. It pains my heart to see you in this state. That's why… I wish to help you."

"Help me? How can you help me." Trixie said skeptically.

"Just by giving you some advice. You know, you are talented at magic, you just don't know it yet. You can perform many great things. Sadly, no pony would ever take you seriously. That's why you need to show them what you can do."

"Go on…" Trixie said slightly interested but still skeptical.

"You must tell great tales of your accomplishments, deeds that you have done, great quests that you have embarked on, and beasts that you have slain! You must show them that you are no ordinary Trixie… but THE Great and Powerful Trixie! Show Equestria of the great power that lies within you and let them make no mistake about judging you ever again!"

"I don't think I can do that." Trixie said, "I've never done anything great in my life. Nothing that earns me the title 'Great and Powerful', anyway…"

"True… but they don't have to know that…"

"You mean… lie to them?" Trixie asked.

"What was the last thing you said to your mother?" the mystery pony said spontaneously appearing close beside her, "Someday, you would make her proud? Why not now? With my help, I will help you become so recognized, that even the princess herself would hold you in high regard."

"The princess?" Trixie asked.

"Yes."

"What do you want from me in exchange?" Trixie asked curiously.

"Nothing." The mystery pony responded rubbing her hoof on the side of Trixie's cheek, "All I ask is to follow my advice."

The being frightened Trixie, but no one had ever offered her help before. Trixie looked into her emotionless eye and saw the eye of a friend extending a hoof to help her on her feet. Trixie was so touched by this that she had to accept.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Trixie replied with a smile.

"You will not be disappointed!" the pony replied, "Now… the Great and Powerful Trixie needs an audience. Set up your stage tomorrow afternoon in this town, and I promise ponies from all over the city will come to see you!"

"Ponies? From all over the city? What if I screw up?" Trixie said nervously.

"Have no fear, I will guide you." The pony said, "Now, the Great and Powerful Trixie must go home and rest, for tomorrow begins your future."

Trixie was so happy at the thought of it! It would probably be the largest audience she had ever had. She was very excited about tomorrow, and it was all thanks to the mysterious pony; however, before she could say "Thank you", the pony vanished without a trace.

"Who was that pony?" she asked herself.

Trixie walked home to set up for her show the next day.

* * *

><p>The next afternoon was a sunny one, and Trixie was in her caravan pacing back and forth nervously. Her stage outside was plopped down ready for a show. She bit her lower lip in anticipation, nervously trying to come up with lines as to what to say.<p>

All the sudden, she heard many ponies outside chattering to each other. Trixie took a peek outside and saw a sea of ponies gathered around her stage. That mysterious pony wasn't lying, there were plenty of ponies who gathered around the stage. She didn't know how the pony did it, but, it happened! This was the biggest audience she had ever had! She felt a sudden feeling of stage fright.

Suddenly, the mysterious pony appeared sitting on her bed.

"Well, it seems you have quite an audience out there, Trixie." She said.

"Oh! Um… thanks for bringing all these ponies here…" Trixie said nervously, "But… I'm kind of having second thoughts…"

"Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of these people!" she said jumping off the bed and walking closer to her, "You have no reason to be! You are above them! You are the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"About this whole 'Great and Powerful Trixie', I haven't done anything!" Trixie said, "I can't just lie to all those ponies and expect them to believe me. I just can't!"

"Don't you want to make your mother proud?" the mysterious pony said calmingly, "Don't you think you owe her that after leaving her alone? Wouldn't she be disappointed if you back off now?"

"Well… I…"

"Then, what are you waiting for? Go for it!"

Then, Trixie's hat and cloak magically appeared on her. She then decided to follow the mysterious pony's advice and perform for the audience outside. She dug up all the confidence she had and went outside to perform.

* * *

><p>Trixie climbed onstage and faced a sea of ponies looking at her. Trixie got nervous, but knew she had to do it for her mother.<p>

"Ladies and gentlecolts! I bring you a spectacular show!" Trixie called out.

All the ponies sat there, waiting for her to do something. Trixie started sweating under the pressure. Then, she remembered the mysterious pony's words: "_You are above them! You are the Great and Powerful Trixie!_"

Trixie then regained her confidence and continued: "Today, you may not have heard about me, but tomorrow, you will brag to your friends about having witnessed the Great and Powerful Trixie! One whose feats are so great, that no average pony could even dream of competing!"

"What did you do, exactly?" a skeptical pony from the audience called out.

"You… you don't know what I did?" Trixie started thinking fast, but came up with a lie quickly, "I vanquished an Ursa Major!"

"Really?" another pony called out.

"You don't believe me? Not surprising, as challenging an Ursa Major is unthinkable. But none is impossible for the Great and Powerful Trixie!" As she struck a pose, two large, colorful explosions popped up beside her and almost surprised her. All the ponies were now watching in awe.

"_Did I do that?_" She thought to herself in amazement, "_I guess I did! I should show off some magic tricks I've been experimenting on!_"

"Watch and be amazed as the Great and Powerful Trixie will show you her awesome power!" Trixie continued.

Trixie then began to perform many magic tricks that she had been experimenting with. First she started with small ones and progressively started getting into more advanced magic. As time went on, Trixie felt a flow going as the tricks felt more and more natural. Eventually, she started pulling off tricks that she made up from the top of her head! All the ponies in the audience were amazed by her tricks; Trixie's tip jar that sat at the edge of the stage began to fill up with money. She felt such an amazing surge of joy showing off to the ponies in the audience that she didn't feel like stopping.

As she performed her last magic trick, the audience applauded wildly as Trixie bowed in acknowledgement of her performance.

"Thank you! Thank you, everypony!" Trixie called out as she bowed, "I'm afraid that's it for the Great and Powerful Trixie, as she must rest for another day!"

She then set off a large poof of smoke and climbed offstage without any of the ponies seeing her. As she walked inside her caravan, she took off her hat and whipped the sweat off her face. She couldn't believe that she did all that! She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled proudly.

"Trixie! You were great!" she said to her reflection.

She then saw the mysterious pony in the mirror clapping slowly. She turned around to face her.

"Bravo, Trixie… Bravo…" She said calmly, "Don't you see what you did out there? They all loved your performance."

"I can't believe it! You were right! I can do it!" Trixie said excitedly.

"Did you notice anyone in particular in the audience?" the mysterious pony asked, "Anyone… you recognized?"

"Well… no… actually…" Trixie responded.

"You didn't see those unicorns at the academy there? The ones who said you 'weren't good enough'?"

"Wait! You mean the professors at the magic academy were in the audience?" Trixie said in shock.

"Yes! They were there." The mysterious pony said emotionlessly, "Those who thought you were not good enough now highly respect your abilities. They now know what kind of power you possess."

"So, if I were to apply now, they'd accept me?" Trixie said.

"Now why would you do that?" the mysterious pony said creeping up behind her and placing her hooves on Trixie's shoulders, "You gave them their chance years ago. Why would you want to give them another? Why would you help them, when they did not help you? Do they really deserve to have you learn from under them? Or do they need to learn… from you? You have already surpassed them… there's no need to learn from them."

"You're right! I don't need them!" Trixie said slightly angered, "They had their chance! I don't need them! I'm already a great pony!"

"Excellent! Now you understand what it is you must do: spread the word. Let everypony in Equestria know who you are. Let them see what you can do. Let them marvel at the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"Yeah! Everypony will respect me! Everypony will give me the love and attention I deserve! I'm gonna make my mom proud!"

As Trixie proudly proclaimed this statement, the mysterious pony vanished. Trixie thought nothing of it and set up to move to the next town.

* * *

><p>Life was good for Trixie from that point on. For the next year and a half, Trixie would travel through town and tell everyone there how she defeated an Ursa Major. Ponies were awe stricken by her presence. It got to the point where she didn't even need the tip jar at the edge of the stage as ponies would just give her things like drinks and food. For the first time in her life, Trixie was truly happy! But something changed about her…<p>

Trixie was visiting the city Manehattan to perform a show there. She was taking a little break from performing and having lunch outside a local restaurant. Trixie was not very happy.

"Excuse me!" she yelled, "Trixie thought she ordered a bermuda sandwich!"

The waiter nervously walked to her table and said "I'm so sorry, Miss Trixie! I shall replace it right away!"

"This is the third time Trixie had her order wrong!" she yelled at him, "Don't tell me you incompetent morons in the kitchen can't even do a simple sandwich!"  
>"Please! We're doing the best we can!" the waiter begged, "Give us another chance!"<p>

Trixie was annoyed by this sniveling waiter, he could barely keep up with what she wanted.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is not pleased!" Trixie replied, she then grabbed his shirt and looked him in the eyes, "Next time, when Trixie comes here to place an order, she expects it to be done right the FIRST time! That is, if Trixie is feeling generous enough to give you a second chance! Now go away!"

The waiter then retreated into the kitchen sobbing. Trixie didn't really care about his feelings, he was quite pathetic. Why should she give this restaurant a second chance? They messed up her order once, they would probably do it again. Then, a green pegasus colt landed next to her and nervously walked up to her.

"Wow… Trixie… it really is you!" he said nervously, "I… I'm a big fan!"

"Yes?" Trixie said without looking back in an irritated tone.

"I… I just wanted to ask you if I could have an autograph! I would really love to have one!" he said shyly.

Trixie was quite irritated by this pony's presence. To ask her for an autograph? Quite laughable. Did he even deserve to be in her presence in the first place?

"Hmph." Trixie said in annoyance, "The Great and Powerful Trixie is having lunch right now. I am in no mood to hand out autographs right now. Perhaps she will be in a better mood when her show is over tonight."

"Oh! Yes, I'm really looking forward to it!" the green pegasus said.

"Now, do you mind leaving?" The proud unicorn declared, "You're bothering Trixie."

"Oh! Yes, ma'am! So sorry, ma'am!" the pegasus said.

He flew off to leave Trixie at peace. Trixie rolled her eyes in annoyance that she's probably going to have to put up with him again. It was then that the waiter came in with her sandwich and placed in on the table. She examined it to see if they got it right this time, and took a bit out of it.

"Hmm… I suppose you got it right this time." Trixie said after swallowing her bite, "Now, off with you, Trixie would like to eat in peace."

"Oh, yes, Miss Trixie! Whatever you desire!" the waiter said pleased with her response.

The waiter left as Trixie finished her sandwich.

* * *

><p>That night, Trixie climbed up onstage to perform her show. She had explosions and fireworks to proclaim her entrance just like usual.<p>

"Ladies and gentlecolts! Feast you eyes on a legendary unicorn!" the show performer proclaimed, "For it is I, the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

As all the ponies in the audience applauded, Trixie noticed someone very familiar in the crowd. It was none other than Regal, Flourish, and Nimble; she remembered those three very well. She was surprised that they were there in Manehattan. Nonetheless, she decided to ignore them and continued on with her show.

"Thank you, everypony!" Trixie called out, "Now, watch and be amazed, as the Great and Powerful Trixie-"

"Now hold on a minute!" someone in the audience called.

Trixie rolled her eyes in irritation; as often times, someone would get tired of Trixie's bragging and would often come up on stage to challenge her. This one was a disgruntled brown colt. He climbed up on the stage and approached her.

"You know, none of us saw you take care of that Ursa Major!" he said, "I have a friend who lives in Fillydephia, and he said there was no Ursa Major attack!" he faced the audience, "Trixie is a fraud and is only bragging to gain attention for herself!"

Trixie laughed and said "You dare to call the Great and Powerful Trixie a fraud? How amusing, seeing that you have no evidence to back this up. I, on the other hand, have plenty of proof that Trixie is indeed Great and Powerful."

"Then, prove it! If you can take on an Ursa Major, then you can take me!"

The colt charged at her with full force. Trixie grinned with amusement and used her magic to make a bag appear. The colt noticed this and tried to stop, but Trixie quickly bagged him and launched him into a nearby trash can.

"I suppose you were just jealous of Trixie's power, but it's okay now; she just put you where you belong." Trixie gloated, "Is there anyone else who wishes to question the Great and Powerful Trixie?" the audience was silent, "No? Then, let us continue."

Trixie continued on with her show without any further interruptions. During the show, she noticed the three unicorns chattering to each other about something; she couldn't really make out what they were talking about, but it seemed like they were disagreeing about something. Trixie tried to keep her mind off of them and continued on.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Trixie was putting her stage away. Then, a familiar pink unicorn with blonde hair approached her.<p>

"Trixie? Is that really you?" she called out.

Trixie just glanced back and said "Trixie thought she saw you in the audience, Flourish."  
>"I… Trixie, we were all worried when you left!" Flourish said, "You just… vanished. Regal said that you would turn up eventually, but I had a feeling you didn't want to come back… not after how we treated you. I had no idea that you would end up here in Manehattan to be honest."<p>

"And now you want to catch up on old times? Sorry, Trixie has no time for such petty nonsense." Trixie responded coldly.

Flourish gave her an astonished look, but continued, "Actually… no. I came to talk to you about Camon, the pony that came up on stage last night."

"Oh… him?"

"I know it was rude of him to interrupt your show, but it was wrong for you to do that!" Flourish said sternly, "I don't know what you've been through all these years, but you didn't have to do that! Camon was always stubborn, but he was a kind colt! He didn't deserve that kind of treatment!"

"I say what I did to him was nothing short of generosity." Trixie replied.

"Generosity? You threw him in the trash can!"

"Trixie could have done far worse things to him. And besides, he should know his place." Trixie said.

"Trixie, what happened to you? You used to be so… different. Now, you've really changed…" Flourish said sadly.

"Oh, you want the old Trixie back?" Trixie snapped, spinning around to face Flourish, "You want her, so that you can have somepony to push around, right? I'll have you know that that Trixie is gone! This is the new and improved Trixie! The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"Listen, Trixie!" Flourish responded defensively, "I know we didn't treat you very well when we were kids, it was wrong of us! Sometimes, I wanted to apologize to you for all the horrible things we did to you. That what I wanted to do when you came back; but you never did! And now, you've become… this!"

"I've become respectable! I've gained all the love and attention that I deserve for so many years! The Trixie that you knew back then wouldn't have even come close to what I have become, because she was a coward! A pathetic coward!"

"Trixie, regardless of whether or not you defeated an Ursa Major, all you do is walk all over ponies!" Flourish said.

Trixie had enough of arguing with Flourish. All she wanted to do was to get her to shut up. Without even thinking, she used her magic to shove Flourish into a tree. As Flourish struggled to get up, Trixie used her magic to lift her up and slam her to the ground.

"You don't seem to get it, do you?" Trixie said coldly, "I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! I am the greatest magic user ever to exist! Now tell me who I am!"

Flourish didn't say anything, and tried to get up instead.

"Well, go on! Say it! Tell me who I am!" Trixie yelled.

"Flourish!" a voice yelled.

It was Regal's voice as she and Nimble watched in terror what Trixie was doing to their friend.

"Trixie! Stop it!" Nimble yelled.

The two unicorns tried to rush to save their friend, but Trixie used her magic to get out some rope and tied them up.

"T-Trixie! Leave them alone!" Flourish cried.

"Now you beg?" Trixie yelled, "Well, I guess now you know what it feels like to be tormented all these years!"

"Leave her alone!" Regal yelled trying to struggle free.

Trixie rolled Flourish over and stomped her hoof on her chest. She looked down at her with a cold glare. Flourish was shaking in terror as a look of fear was spread on her face.

"What was that name you and your friends keep calling me? A dork?" Trixie said, "Really? Is that the best you can come up with? Well, at least dorks like me can become something." She lowered her voice almost to a whisper, "You know what you are? You're nothing. You have no future. You just exist. You can never match up to the Great and Powerful Trixie. You can try… oh, yes, you can try. But you will never come even close to me. Understand? Now… tell me who I am."

Flourish said nothing. She only whimpered in horror as to what her former classmate has become.

"TELL ME!" Trixie yelled as her voice echoed through the buildings.

Trixie mashed down on her chest as Flourish cried in pain. Trixie then looked into the eyes of the frightened unicorn; those eyes filled with fear and horror; eyes that leaked tears of torment. Her body shook under Trixie's hoof as she sobbed in terror. Trixie knew that at this point she had gone way too far. She released the pink unicorn who then started scooting away from the prideful magician. Trixe then loosened the ropes on her friends who scurried over to aid her. The two unicorns helped their frightened friend up and helped her walk away from Trixie. Regal looked back and glared at her for what she had done.

For the first time in her career, Trixie began to question herself if whether or not she was taking the right path or not. She had a brief desire to apologize to Flourish; but then recuperated herself saying that she had it coming. Still, the event that had just transpired made her feel very uncomfortable, so she decided to leave town quickly and quietly.

Trixie tried to take her mind off of it by setting her next target destination. It was a town that she had been trying to get to for a few months from now. It was a small town that was simple and quiet. She knew that in order to secure her name, she had to reach this town and show them the magnificence of the Great and Powerful Trixie. She set off to her next destination: Ponyville.

To be continued…


	3. The Fall

_The following contains scenes from Boast Busters. If you have already seen that episode, then you can go ahead and skip this._

Chapter 3: The Fall

Trixie left Canterlot behind and started to head for Ponyville, thinking about what she should do for her next show. The only memory that she remembered from Canterlot was her unpleasant encounter with her old schoolmates; she was briefly curious as to how Flourish Twinkle was doing. She immediately dismissed the event and continued on.

She eventually did reach her destination. Some of the ponies there stared at the blue unicorn pulling a caravan. Trixie didn't pay much attention to them, she would really get their focus soon enough.

Trixie came to a spot in the middle of town and parked her caravan in the center. It was about this point where two unicorn colts approached her. One was a tall dopey looking unicorn with a yellow coat, a green mane, and freckles. The other was a short, rather plump pony with a blue coat and a brown mane. They looked at her curiously. Trixie, aware of their presence, stared back at them with an irritated glance.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Uh… who are you?" the yellow unicorn asked.

Trixie chuckled at the question and said "Don't tell me you haven't heard of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"Mmmmm…" the blue unicorn thought to himself, "Nope, haven't heard of you."

"Well… it seems this town is more ignorant than I though." Trixie said with a proud smile, "Nonetheless, I shall reveal to you all the awesome powers that belong to Trixie!"

"Really? Well, what can you do?" The yellow unicorn asked with excitement.

"Well, my thick-headed friend, Trixie usually don't to backstage tricks," Trixie said pridefully, "But, she's feeling quite generous today, so perhaps a quick demonstration would suffice."

Trixie used her magic to make a long piece of cloth appear; it floated before the bedazzled unicorns' eyes. Suddenly, it wrapped itself around the yellow unicorn head to hoof. He was completely covered by the wrapping. The yellow unicorn muffled from underneath as the blue unicorn watched in confusion.

"Umm… are you gonna unwrap him?" the blue unicorn asked.

"Why don't you do it?" Trixie said with a snide smile.

The blue unicorn did as she said and tugged on an end that hung out from the bottom. Suddenly, all the wrapping collapsed before him and the yellow unicorn was nowhere in there.

"Where'd he go?" the blue unicorn said in shock.

"Oh… I don't know… did you try looking in this box?" Trixie said pointing to a box sitting next to her.

At this moment, the yellow unicorn burst out of the box dazed and confused.

"Where am I?" he said.

"Whoa! That was amazing!" the blue unicorn said, "I've never seen anything like it."

"To be honest, any simple-minded unicorn could have pulled that trick off." Trixie said with a stuck up look, "It's all mere child's play to me"

"Then, could you show us something really cool, oh Great and Powerful Trixie?" the yellow unicorn said hopping out of the box.

"Now, now. The truly amazing tricks are for the show. Now, off with you! I have to get ready." Trixie said shooing them away.

"Wow! You're so incredible! We're gonna tell everypony about you!" the blue unicorn said.

"Yeah! You're awesome, Trixie!" the yellow unicorn agreed.

"Yes, yes, Trixie's heard it all, now shoo!" Trixie said shoving them away.

The two unicorns dashed away to tell all the ponies in town about Trixie as she continued setting up her stage.

* * *

><p>Later on that afternoon, many ponies from Ponyville gathered around the caravan in curiosity.<p>

"Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie's voice boomed from nowhere.

Suddenly, Trixie appeared in a large puff of smoke. Everyone gasped in awe at the sight of it.

"Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever!" she shouted.

All the ponies started chattering to each other about it. Trixie assumed that they were all amazed by her appearance, she was so proud of herself, until she heard a voice from the audience say "Magic, Shagic. Boo!"

"Well, well, well…" she responed, "It looks like we have some NEIGH-sayers in the audience! Who is so IGNORANT as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they are in the presence in the greatest magical unicorn in all of Equestria?"

The ponies chattered some more, and then a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane flew up to her and shouted, "So, 'Great and Powerful Trixie', what makes you think you're so awesome anyway?"

Trixie chuckled and said "Why only the Great and Powerful Trixie could vanquish THE DREADED URSA MAJOR!" the audience gasped at this revelation, "When all hope was lost, the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to, but the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in, and with her awesome magic vanquished the Ursa Major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!"

Then, the yellow unicorn from earlier approached the stage and said "Trixie is the most magical, most talented, most awesome unicorn in Ponyville!"

"No!" shouted the blue unicorn from earlier, "In all of Equestria!"

Trixie laughed to herself and said "It's true my enthusiastic little admirer. Trixie is most certainly the best in Ponyville!"

The crowd was silent at her statement, it was obvious that they thought she was full of herself.

"Don't believe the Great and Powerful Trixie?" she continued. It was at this point, Trixie felt that a demonstration was in order, "Well then, I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians - anything you can do, I can do better. Any takers? Anyone? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!"

Trixie chuckled at herself, for she knew that nobody would ever dare to challenge her! Trixie briefly scanned the audience to find a suitable challenge for her.

"How about… YOU!" Trixie immediately pointed at a purple unicorn.

There was a split second where Trixie felt like she recognized this stranger; as if she met her somewhere before. The purple unicorn looked up in horror by Trixie's presence; Trixie sneered at the sight of the look of uncomfort written all over her face.

"Well, little hayseed?" Trixie asked impatiently.

"That does it! I can't stand no more of this!" a voice shouted from the audience.

An orange earth pony wearing a cowboy hat approached her with an irritated look on her face. The earth pony took out a rope and lasso and started doing tricks with it.

"Can yer magic powers do this?" she said while doing the tricks.

Trixie rolled her eyes at the sight. Was someone really trying to upstage her? The orange pony threw the lasso and snagged an apple from a nearby tree and had it land in her mouth. The orange pony looked at her with a cocky smile and said "Top that, missy!"

Trixie had the sudden urge to use her magic to teach her a lesson she would never forget. But then, an image of Flourish's broken body shot through her mind like a lightning bolt. Trixie knew that she would have to make an alternate approach.

"Oh ye of little talent." She said with a snare, "Watch and be amazed at the magic of Trixie!"

She used her magic to lift up her hat to reveal her marvelous blue horn. Next, she gained control of the rope that the pony was using and tied her hoofs together and planted an apple in her mouth. As the binded pony helplessly bounced offstage, Trixie felt a surge of triumph.

"Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails!" she exclaimed pridefully.

Suddenly, the same blue pegasus once again approached her and shouted "There's no need to go struttin' around and showin' off like that!"

"Oh?" Trixie responded pretending to be amused.

"That's my job!" the pegasus proclaimed.

Suddenly, the pegasus dashed up into the air and spun a nearby windmill around at high speed. She dashed through the clouds one by one and made a giant u-turn to speed through all the holes in the clouds she made and spun on the windmill again and then landed back on stage wings spread as the water from the clould splashed all over her making a rainbow.

"They don't call me Rainbow and Dash for nothin'!" she pridefully exclaimed.

Trixie gave a snide smile and said, "When I'm through with you, the only thing they'll call you… is LOSER!"

Trixie used her magic to manipulate the rainbow and spun the apparently named Rainbow Dash around in a colorful tornado. When it ceased, Rainbow was on the ground dazzed and dizzy.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" she said weakly.

"Seems like anypony with a DASH of good sense would think twice before tussling with the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie quipped as she summoned a storm cloud to zap Rainbow.

The ponies started chattering to each other again until a white unicorn with a purple mane approached Trixie and said "Applejack and Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace."

"Ooo, what's the matter? Afraid you'll get a hair out of place in that rat's nest you call a mane?" Trixie said sarcastically.

"Oh… it… is… ON!" Rarity said in an offended tone, "You may think you're tough with all your so-called powers, but there's more to magic than your brutish ways. A unicorn needs to be more than just muscle. A unicorn needs to have style." She used her magic to make a dress out of Trixie's curtains, the audience captivated by it, "A unicorn is not a unicorn without grace and beauty."

Without saying anything, Trixie used her magic to give that overstyled purple mane a "makeover". The audience gasped in horror.

"QUICK! I NEED A MIRROR! GET ME A MIRROR!" Rarity shouted, "What did she do to my hair? I know she did something terrible to my hair."

"Nothing!" one pony said.

"It's fine!" said another.

"It's gorgeous!" said another.

"It's green…" said one more.

Rarity, appalled by what the magician did to her once beautiful mane, fled the stage crying "No! Green hair! Not green hair! It's an awful, awful color!"

The ponies started chattering again; Trixie saw that she did a job well done. Suddenly, she thought she heard someone say that they were better than her. She immediately spotted that purple unicorn she spotted earlier.

"Hah!" she laughed with pride, "You think you're better than the Great and Powerful Trixie? You think you have more magical talent? Well, come on, show Trixie what you've got. Show us all."

"Who? Me?" the purple unicorn said nervously, "I'm just your run of the mill citizen of Ponyville. No powerful magic here. I, uh... I think I hear my laundry calling. Sorry."

The purple unicorn fled as Trixie laughed at herself triumphantly.

"Ha! Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie has proven herself to be the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria. Was there ever any doubt?" Trixie left the stage, proud of her accomplishment.

* * *

><p>That night, Trixie was in her caravan brushing her powdery white mane, when the mysterious pony appeared on her bed. Trixie smiled at the sight of her.<p>

"Well, hello there." She said, "It's been a long while since I've seen you. Where have you been?"

The mystery pony chuckled and said "I've been nearby. I see you have made quite the name for yourself."

Trixie smiled and said "Yes, I have. And it's all thanks to you. I never felt so happy in my life!"

"Indeed. However… today you were a bit… hesitant…" she said bluntly.

"Er… whatever do you mean?" Trixie replied "I mean, I did my best like I usually do."

"Is that so?" the mystery pony said walking up to her, "Then why didn't you show those three ponies your REAL power?"

"Oh! You mean those three ponies that challenged me? Well, I did show them! And… it was quite amusing… right?"

The mystery pony shook her head, "You humiliated them, true. But, you didn't give them a reason to fear you! You should have showed them your true power and give them a reason to tell other ponies that you are indeed Great and Powerful!"

"Well… I didn't want to hurt them." Trixie said.

"And why not? They questioned your power, your might! It seems you're not as great and powerful as you say you are."

"What do you mean?" Trixie asked curiously.

"I sense that that weak little filly is still inside you." The mystery pony said as she walked around Trixie, "You still feel sorrow, you still feel… afraid. It won't be long until ponies would catch on to this."

"No, she's not!" Trixie said defensively, "She's gone! The new Trixie is all here! She's not afraid of anything! Why, Trixie could even take on a REAL Ursa Major if she could!"

The mysterious pony laughed with amusement and said "Oh… we'll see about that…."

Suddenly, Trixie heard banging on her door. She heard voices calling her name in terror. She rolled her eyes in irritation. She knew it was those annoying unicorns again. She walked over to her door and opened the top of it. She saw the two unicorns completely worn out with a frightened look on their faces.

"Trixie thought she said the Great and Powerful Trixie does not wish to be disturbed!" she shouted in annoyance.

The blue unicorn chuckled nervously and said "We… we have a tiny problem…"

"Actually it's a big one!" the yellow unicorn said.

"What is so important that you could not wait until morning to disturb Trixie?" she said in an irritated tone.

Suddenly, she heard a loud thud that rumbled the ground beneath her. She looked up and saw a giant blue bear peering through the trees: an Ursa Major! Trixie screamed in terror and fled away from her caravan as the colossal bear crushed it beneath its foot. All the ponies in town were alerted by the monster's presence and fled their homes as it wreaked havoc. It chased them around for a while until it finally cornered them.

"Great and Powerful Trixie, you've got to vanquish the ursa!" the blue unicorn said.

"Yeah! You vanquish so we can watch!" the yellow unicorn said excitedly.

"It took a lot of trouble to get that thing here." The blue unicorn said.

"Wait! YOU brought that thing here?" Trixie said in shock, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR LITTLE PONY MINDS?"

"But… you're the Great and Powerful Trixie…" the blue unicorn replied.

"Yeah. Remember, you defeated an Ursa Major!" the yellow one said.

Trixie faced the Ursa nervously; she knew she was in serious trouble. The only way out of this was to try to get rid of it, hopefully being successful at it. The ursa roared in her face as she gathered all the courage she had left to pull off some magic.

"Uh… okay…" Trixie gulped, "Stand back!"

Trixie faced the angry bear and used her magic to get out some rope and tied it up.

"Heh… piece of cake…" Trixie said with a nervous smile.

She then noticed that she only tied two of its fingers together as it easily snapped the rope. The two unicorns were not very impressed.

"Aw come on, Trixie!" the blue unicorn said.

"Stop goofin' around and vanquish it, eh?" the yellow one said.

Trixie, knowing that she wasn't doing a very good job, tried even harder to pull off an impressive stunt. She used her magic to summon a thunder cloud to zap it; this would have worked, but it only made it madder.

"Well… that was a dud…" the yellow unicorn replied completely unimpressed.

"Yeah! Come on!" the blue unicorn said impatiently, "Where's all the cool explosions and smoke and stuff like that earlier? You know."

Trixie tried zapping it again which really annoyed the bear. It roared loudly as Trixie zipped underneath it to escape. All the ponies started to panic as it tore up the town. In the midst of all the chaos, the purple unicorn from earlier dashed through.

"What's going on?" she said.

"We brought an Ursa to town!" the blue unicorn said proudly.

"You WHAT?" the purple unicorn said in shock.

"Don't worry" the yellow unicorn said confidently, "The Great and Powerful Trixie will vanquish it!"

Now, Trixie knew she had no choice, she had to tell the truth. She was quite scared about what would happen; but, she gathered her last bit of courage to tell them.

"I… can't…" she said.

"WHAT?" the two unicorns replied.

"Uh… I can't. I never have!" she said in sorrow, "No one can vanquish an Ursa Major. I just made the whole story up to make me look better"

"MADE IT UP?" the two unicorns were shocked at this revelation.

Trixie was about to apologize to them, when the Ursa Major found them and threatened to eat them. It let out a large roar and frightened everybody. Trixie knew this was the end, not only was her career over, but her life as well!

Suddenly, the purple unicorn boldly approached the bear and got ready. The purple unicorn tried to use her magic to vanquish it. But, instead, soft beautiful music played and made the bear drowsy. Next, she used her magic to empty a water tower and filled it with milk from a nearby barn. The Ursa was about to topple over to crush Trixie, but the purple pony levitated it just in time to save her. The milk-filled water tower was given to the ursa as it sleepily sucked the milk out of it as it levitated back into the cave.

All the ponies celebrated at the defeat of the Ursa Major. Trixie was humiliated at what just happened! This unicorn did what she claimed that she could do, but couldn't!

"So, it is possible to vanquish an Ursa Major all by yourself?" one of them asked.

"That wasn't an Ursa Major!" the purple unicorn said, "It was a baby: an Ursa Minor!"

"THAT was just a baby?" Trixie said in disbelief.

Trixie couldn't believe this! One of the most famous and highly regarded ponies in Equestria, casually upstaged by one simple pony! It was like a nightmare that wouldn't end!

Without even thinking, Trixie retaliated by saying "You may have vanquished an Ursa Minor, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

She lit up a puff of smoke and fled the town.

* * *

><p>Trixie kept running and running without even looking back. She didn't want to stop, but her energy wouldn't let her go on any further. She eventually stopped in the middle of the road to catch her breath.<p>

As she stood there breathing heavily, she saw the mysterious pony standing there off the side of the road. At first she just stared at Trixie and then started laughing at her.

"W-what's so funny?" Trixie said as the pony laughed at her.

The pony continued laughing as an image of other ponies appeared and laughed at her, too.

"W-why are you laughing at me? Stop it!" Trixie begged, "Stop laughing at me! PLEASE! STOP!"

Trixie continued to plea as the sea of laugher engulfed her into blinding darkness.

To be continued…


	4. The Poor and Broken Trixie

Chapter 4: The Poor and Broken Trixie

About half a year passed since that event at Ponyville; Trixie found herself back where she started: broke, homeless, and alone. At first, she hoped that no one heard about the news and she could continue on making a living, but word spread surprisingly fast and Trixie found herself out of work. It was hard for her to find jobs; as a result, she struggled to even afford food. There were many days she would go hungry. She wandered endlessly around Equestria praying that there would be someone kind enough to take her in; but rarely did they even let her stay for one night. Trixie had nothing except the painful memories that haunted her every day.

* * *

><p>Trixie was at a bar one night having a couple of drinks. She stared at the half empty glass that sat in front of her with a frown. The bartender stared at her with curious eyes as the depressed unicorn took a sip of her drink.<p>

"Hey, you okay?" the bartender asked, "You don't look so good."

Trixie only answered by nodding slightly.

"Say… you look familiar." The bartender continued, "Aren't you that Great and Powerful Trixie who went around saying she vanquished an Ursa Major or something?"

Trixie gave a half smile and said "No. You must have me confused with someone else."

"Ah. Well, I heard that it all turned out to be a bunch of garbage, 'cause I heard somepony found out that she made the whole thing up to make her look better."

"Well, I guess you couldn't blame her for trying." Trixie replied.

"I haven't heard from her in a while. She's probably retired."

"Probably..." Trixie said.

She finished up her drink and left a small tip on the bar and started to leave. But she stopped when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Hold it right there!" said the voice.

She turned around and saw it was Regal Romance staring her down as she walked over to Trixie. She looked very annoyed by Trixie's presence.

"You can't hide from me!" she said "I know who you are, Trixie!"

Everyone at the bar immediately stopped what they were doing when they heard Trixie's name and looked at the blue unicorn who stood before them.

"Oh… h-hello, Regal." Trixie said with a nervous smile, "It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Don't start that act with me!" Regal said now close up to her, "You have no idea what you did to my best friend!"

"Who? Oh, Flourish!" Trixie said nervously, "Um… how is she doing?"

"She hasn't been the same, no thanks to you!" Regal said in anger.

"Regal, I'm sorry! I-"

"Oh! You're sorry? You attacked Flourish and you're sorry? You're not sorry, Trixie, you're a monster!" Regal said poking Trixie with her hoof, "You'll never find anywhere to go! Nobody wants to be with you because you're a selfish, inconsiderate monster!"

"But… I…" Trixie pleaded.

"Get out! GET OUT!" Regal shouted.

Trixie slowly retreated out the door as Regal continued to shoo her away. Trixie left the bar and never looked back. Regal always did like to pick on her, mainly because she saw Trixie as a dork; but Trixie saw that this time, it was out of pure hatred. She knew that any hope of making amends to Regal was all but gone.

* * *

><p>Trixie continued on to the next town in search for a job. She was walking down the road next to the woods. It was a dark night so Trixie used an illumination spell to keep her path visible. As she was walking, two ponies approached her. Trixie felt a little uncomfortable that they were following her, but she tried to ignore them. The two ponies got close behind her as they were walking.<p>

"Excuse me, Miss." One of them said.

Trixie looked back to see them and she immediately recognized who they were. One of them was the waiter at a restaurant that she at half a year ago and the other was the green pegasus from that same town who kept bothering her.

"Well, look who it is!" said the waiter, "If it isn't the Great and Powerful Trixie."

"Yeah!" said the green pegasus, "It's been a while since we saw you."

"Hello. Um… why are you following me?" Trixie said nervously.

"Giving me the cold shoulder again, eh?" the green Pegasus said hovering up close to her, "You really are Trixie, just as I remember you."

"Oh… It's nice to see you again, but I need to get going. It is kind of dark, you know." Trixie said nervously.

"No! We would like for you to come with us!" the waiter said with a snide smile, "Someone very special would like to meet you."

"I… really need to get going…" Trixie said trying to walk away.

"No! We insist!" the green pegasus said grabbing her hoof.

"You wouldn't want to keep your friend waiting, would we?" the waiter said grabbing her other hoof.

The two ponies dragged Trixie into the woods against her own will.

They kept dragging her on and on through the woods. Deeper and deeper they went; it seemed like hours they kept dragging her. Trixie wanted to fight back, but she knew she would make things worse if she did. She tried to wriggle free from their tight hold, but they were much stronger than she was.

Finally, they stopped in the middle of the woods. Trixie found herself face to face with a rusty food trough. It looked like it had been abandoned in the woods for years as it was filled with murky water with crusty brown leaves floating in it.

Trixie looked at the ponies holding her hostage nervously. She had no idea what they wanted from her.

"She'll be here any moment now." Said the pegasus, "In the meantime, why don't you have drink?"

The waiter held Trixie's hooves behind her back as the green pegasus dunked her head into the dirty water before her. Trixie tried to hold her breath for as long as she could, but she started sufficating. When the green colt yanked her head out of the trough, Trixie coughed as she tried to catch her breath.

"Not so great and powerful now, are you?" he said.

He dunked her head into the trough again, this time a little longer that last time. Trixie thought she was going to drown until finally, a voice stopped them.

"That's enough, you two!" said the voice.

The green pony yanked Trixie's head out of the trough and shoved her to the ground. As water dripped from her wet face, she coughed out water and tried to breathe.

"Let me get a good look at you." Said the voice.

Trixie looked up and, to her horror, she found herself sitting face to face with a blonde haired pink unicorn: Flourish Twinkle. Flourish looked at her with a twisted smile; her mane was tangled and messy as if it was uncared for in a while.

"F-Flourish?" Trixie said.

"Oh! The Great and Powerful Trixie remembered my name! What an honor!" she said mockingly.

"Flourish, I'm sorry!" Trixie pleaded "I know what I did was wrong! I was out of control! Not a day went by without me thinking of what I did! Please forgive me!"

"Forgive you? Do you have any idea what happened to me because of you!" Flourish shouted, "My friends committed me! My best friends sent me to a mental institution because of you! They thought I was crazy!"

"Flourish, I had no idea…" Trixie said with guilt.

"Oh… but that wasn't all for me." Flourish continued, "I just had to find you, Trixie. After all, we were schoolmates, right?"

"What are you going to do to me?" Trixie said.

"I thought we'd catch up on old times…" Flourish said with an insane smile.

Trixie was frightened by those words. She backed up and fled as fast as she could.

"COME BACK, TRIXIE!" Flourish's voice echoed through the trees.

* * *

><p>Trixie ran for her life as fast as she could. She couldn't face Flourish at all. Suddenly, Trixie stopped to a screeching halt; as there was a cliff right in front of her. Trixie tried to turn around to go back, but Flourish dashed out from the trees and tackled her to the ground. Flourish had her pinned to the ground.<p>

"Come on now, Trixie. We have a lot to talk about!" Flourish said with a twisted smile.

"Flourish, please stop! I didn't want to hurt you!" Trixie begged, "I wasn't thinking right! I-"

"SHUT UP!" Flourish said punching Trixie in the face, "I wanted to give you a chance! I wanted to stand up for you! I wanted to be your friend! But apparently I wasn't good enough to be your friend!"

"We can still be friends, right?" Trixie said with an innocent smile.

"Oh, sure. We can be the best of friends." Flourish said with a smile.

Trixie smiled back hoping it was the truth; but Flourish socked her in the face again. Trixie felt blood trickling out of her mouth.

"Why would I want to be friends with you?" Flourish said "Why would ANYPONY be friends with a monster like you?"

Trixie quivered with fear and sadness as Flourish stooped down low and close to her face.

"Remember what you said to me before we last met?" Flourish said.

Trixie fearfully shook her head .

"You said I was nothing. Remember?" Flourish continued, "Well, I have something to tell you. You're talentless. You're not good at anything. Your cutie mark is a lie; your life is a lie. You were never good at anything and you never will be. You're the one who's nothing."

Trixie didn't respond to those words, but she was hurt by them. Tears streamed down from her face. Flourish looked at her with a stern look; she looked at the quivering, pathetic unicorn beneath her. That cold stare beamed down at the whimpering magician without any trace of sympathy.

"Are… are you going… to let me go?" Trixie said through her tears.

"Go?" Flourish said cracking a smile, "Trixie, Equestria has no need for the likes of you. I'm going to do them a favor."

Flourish wrapped her hooves around Trixie's neck and lifted her off the ground. She struggled to breathe as the insane unicorn squeezed tightly. Flourish dangled her over the cliff. Trixie looked down as the cliff looked deeper and deeper.

"Flourish, no! Don't… don't do this!" Trixie said struggling to speak, "Don't kill me! I… I don't… wanna die…"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is begging for mercy?" Flourish said with a cold smile, "You always were pathetic. It's a shame it took me a while to notice that."

"N…no! P…please!" Trixie begged, "I'm sorry! I… I'm sorry…"

"The time for begging is over." Flourish said, "Goodbye, Trixie. Goodbye forever. And good riddance!"

Flourish dropped Trixie off the cliff as her blood-curdling scream echoed from below. Trixie kept falling screaming in terror for her life, until she hit her head on a rock jutting out from the side, knocking her unconscious. The last thing she heard before passing out was a loud, unpleasant snap. As her unconscious body landed on the ground, Trixie could hear the voice of mysterious pony ringing in her head laughing at her.

"YOU'RE GONE! YOU'RE ALL GONE!"

This would have been the end of the Great and Powerful Trixie. But fate had another plan for her…

* * *

><p>Trixie woke up and immediately noticed she was inside someone's home. She realized that she couldn't move at all, but whatever she could move hurt greatly. She then realized she was covered from neck to hoof in casts. The next thing she realized was that she couldn't use magic. Trixie tried to figure out where she was and how long she was out. She saw that the walls were covered with shelves filled with books as if she was in a library.<p>

"Oh! You're awake! That's wonderful!" said a voice.

Trixie looked over and was surprised to see a familiar purple unicorn standing at the doorway with a big smile on her face.

To be continued…


	5. Twilight and Trixie

Chapter 5: Twilight and Trixie

Twilight Sparkle was at home reading a book during a nice evening in Ponyville, when Applejack came walking into the door.

"Howdy, Twilight! Got all my work finished." Said Applejack.

"Thanks, AJ!" Twilight said with a smile, "I really appreciate you helping me out here."

"Sure thing, Twilight." Applejack said happily, "So, what'cha doin'?"

"I thought I'd do some extra studying before we go out tonight. It never hurts you know." Twilight said closing the book.

"What was that thing yer lookin' for again?" Applejack asked curiously.

"A Lunar Lotus." Twilight responded, "It's a special kind of flower that only appears in the moonlight. I heard there were some growing in a nearby forest so, I need to get a specimen to study."

"And you want me to come with you to make sure nothin' happens to ya." Applejack said, "Might as well. I heard some pony escaped from the asylum and is runnin' loose somewhere."

Twilight laughed and said "I'm sure we'll be fine out there. Now could you help me pack up?"

"Sure thing!" Applejack responded.

* * *

><p>Later on that night, Twilight and Applejack walked through the woods in search of the Lunar Lotus. The crickets chirped loudly as an owl cooed in the distance. Twilight used an illumination spell to light the way as Applejack followed closely behind.<p>

Finally, Twilight found what she was looking for: bathing in the moonlight was the Lunar Lotus glowing a shiny bright blue.

"Well, I'll be! Sure is pretty." Said Applejack.

Twilight picked three of the flowers and put them in her sack.

"Well, that wasn't so hard." Twilight said, "Now, let's head home."

"Yeah, but let's be quick about it!" Applejack said nervously, "This place's real spooky."

"I agree." Twilight responded.

Suddenly, out in the distance, they heard a blood-curdling scream echo through the trees that was abruptly silenced. Twilight and Applejack huddled together in shock.

"W-what was that?" Twilight said frightened.

"I don't know. But it sounds like somepony's in trouble!" Applejack said, "C'mon! Let's check it out."

"It came from that way!" Twilight said.

Twilight and Applejack rushed through the woods to find whoever was in trouble. They came to a sudden halt at the bottom of a cliff.

"Is… that who I think it is?" Applejack said.

"Yes! It is!" Twilight said.

Low and behold, Trixie lay unconscious before them; she was bleeding out of her mouth and her horn was snapped off.

"What on Equestria happened to her?" Twilight said in astonishment.

"I don' know, Twilight… but it sure wasn't pretty, that's for sure…" Applejack responded.

"Come on! We gotta help her!" Twilight said.

"I don't know, Twilight… you remember all the trouble she caused in Ponyville?" Applejack said.

"AJ! That doesn't matter!" Twilight snapped, "She needs our help!"

Applejack looked down with guilt and said "Yer right, Twilight. C'mon, let's get 'er outta here!"

Twilight used her magic to make a small wagon appear and used it to levitate Trixie's unconscious body onto it. Applejack fastened herself to the front of the wagon and started pulling it. Twilight remain in the back to watch over Trixie, using a cloth to wipe the blood off her mouth. They took her out of the woods and back to Ponyville to the hospital.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Twilight Sparkle immediately went to the hospital to check up on Trixie. When she arrived, Nurse Redheart approached her. She looked quite tired after an all-night work.<p>

"Nurse? How's Trixie doing?" Twilight said.

"She's just fine. She just needs to rest, now." the nurse said with a smile, "I'm quite surprised she's still alive! A lot of her bones were broken, not to mention her horn broke off. She won't be using magic for a while. What happened to her?"

"I don't know. I found her at the bottom of the cliff." Twilight responded, "Maybe she fell off."

"We'll she's quite lucky you came along, that's for sure." The nurse responded.

"Can I go see her?" Twilight asked.

"You can if you want, but, she's still out-cold. She'll be that way for a few days, I'm afraid."

"Okay…" Twilight said.

She went inside and approached Trixie in bed. She was almost completely covered in casts. Her horn was wrapped on her head, as well. Twilight stared at Trixie's unresponsive face. She wondered what could have happened to her. Suddenly, Applejack came in.

"Mornin', Twilight. How's she doin'?" Applejack said.

"The nurse said she just needs to rest." Twilight said.

"Oh… so, any idea about what happened to her?"

"Not really…" Twilight said, "Maybe she fell off the cliff by accident."

"In the middle of the woods?" Applejack asked skeptically.

Twilight didn't answer that. She did find it strange that Trixie was in the woods. As she was thinking, Rainbow Dash and Rarity burst in.

"Hey! Applejack told me everything!" Rainbow said.

"Calm down, Rainbow!" Rarity chastised, "Good morning, Twilight, we came to visit Trixie."

"Sure. She's still unconscious, though." Twilight said.

"My, she does not look very good." Rarity said staring at Trixie.

"Well… she did have it coming…" Rainbow said.

"Rainbow!" Twilight snapped.

"What?" Rainbow shrugged.

"Regardless, she looks like she's alright." Rarity said, "Just what exactly happened to her?"

"I told you, we don't know." Applejack repeated, "We just found her lying there at the bottom of a cliff."

"Maybe she was attacked by a bear or something." Rainbow said.

"You think so?" Applejack said.

"Well, perhaps she just lost her way and met up with some misfortune." Rarity said.

"Come on, girls, knock it off." Twilight said slightly annoyed, "We'll just ask her when she wakes up."

Then, Nurse Redheart returned completely exhausted.

"I have a lot of patients to attend to, right now. I don't know if I can get to Trixie at the moment…" she said.

Twilight thought for a moment, then came up with an idea.

"I'll take care of her!" Twilight said.

Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity simultaneously turned to her in surprise.

"You sure about that, Twilight?" Applejack said.

"She just needs to rest, right?" Twilight continued, "She can rest at my house until she wakes up. I promise I'll take good care of her."

"Well, I suppose I could leave her in your hooves, Twilight. As long as you call me if you need help." The nurse said.

"I will! I promise!" Twilight said with a smile.

"Well, I s'pose I ought ta help you." Said Applejack.

"Me, too!" Rarity said.

"Yeah! I'll help… even if she is a loud-mouth." Said Rainbow.

"Rainbow!" Rarity snapped.

Rainbow just shrugged.

"You can start by helping me get her to Twilight's home." Nurse Redheart said.

They all worked together to get Trixie out of the hospital and to Twilight's home.

* * *

><p>Twilight took care of Trixie for about two to three weeks. Spike, her assistant, asked her why she was helping her, in which she responded that "No one deserves to be left out". Occasionally, Trixie would get visitors to check up on her. They would usually ask what happened to her, to which Twilight said that she didn't know. As each day went by, Twilight hoped more and more that this would be the day that Trixie woke up.<p>

Twilight Sparkle was heading home after shopping for some groceries. When she opened the door to her house, she was completely surprised that Trixie was finally awake. Trixie was looking around the room as if wondering where she was. Twilight was so excited about seeing this that she blurted out "Hey! You're awake! That's wonderful!"

Trixie immediately shifted her attention to Twilight. She looked very confused as Twilight dropped the groceries on the table and approached her.

"Gosh! You were out for weeks! We all thought you would never wake up!" Twilight said.

"W-where am I?" Trixie said in confusion.

"Oh, you're in my house. I've been taking care of you for the past several weeks." Twilight informed her, "Applejack and I found you at the edge of a cliff. I took you in and has been taking care of you ever since."

"You've been taking care of me?" Trixie said in astonishment "Why?"  
>"Because I don't think you deserve whatever happened to you."<p>

Trix didn't say anything after hearing that. Twilight, still excited about Trixie, smiled at her comfortingly.

"I'll be right back! I gotta tell everypony!" Twilight said.

She raced out the door in a flash.

Trixie laid in bed completely puzzled by what just happened. Why was that purple unicorn, of all ponies, helping her? She was completely confused about this turn of events. She knew that this was the exact same unicorn who single hoofedly ruined her career.

Suddenly, Twilight came back with a smile on her face. Following behind her were five more ponies; three of which she recognized, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash; and two of which she never met; and a purple dragon. The dragon had his arms folded and had a slight look of indifference.

"Hey! You're awake! That's fabulous!" Rarity said.

"That sure was quite a scare you gave us, Trixie." Applejack said.

A pink pony zipped up to her with amazing speed.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" she said hyperactively, "You don't remember me at all, but I remember you! A lot! We met a while ago, but you were asleep! But now you're not asleep anymore! Now I can really REALLY meet you! YAY!"

Rarity used her magic to pull the hyperactive pink pony away.

"Don't harass her too much, darling. She just woke up." Rarity said.

"Uh… hi…" Said a yellow pegasus with a pink mane.

"Oh! You didn't get a chance to meet Fluttershy, did you?" Twilight said.

"Uh…" Fluttershy said curling down defensively.

"Well, go on, Fluttershy! Don't be shy!" Pinkie said.

"I'm… Fluttershy… it's… really nice to meet you…" She said quietly.

"Uh… thanks?" Trixie said awkwardly.

Fluttershy cringed in embarrassment.

"So… you all helped me?" Trixie asked.

"Mostly Twilight, but, yeah we sure did!" Rainbow said.

"We were all worried sick for you!" Rarity said.

"You were?"

"Pretty much the whole town was!" Twilight responded, "Every day, ponies were asking me about you."

"But why?" Trixie asked.

"Well, we couldn't just leave ya there!" Applejack exclaimed.

"Yeah! Speakin' of which, what happened to you?" Rainbow Dash said.

Trixie was silent for a moment. She didn't dare tell them about Flourish Twinkle, for they would have to know about how she treated her. She knew they would all turn against her instantly by doing so. She had to think of something.

"I… fell off…" Trixie said.

"You fell off?" Rarity said.

"Why yes!" Trixie said, "I was taking a shortcut and lost my way and accidentally fell off the cliff. That's all!"

Trixie saw a slight look of disappointment on some of their faces, but she was satisfied with her story. Hopefully this little lie will not get her in as much trouble as the last one.

"Well… you're safe now, Trixie." Twilight responded, "And I'm going to make sure you're comfortable as you recover."

"Yeah! If you need any of us for anything, give us a ring!" Rainbow said.

"We'll always be there for you." Applejack said.

"Yeah! Absolutely!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Trixie was so touched by this. Nobody had ever treated her with such kindness in a long time.

All the ponies chatted with each other a bit before heading back home. Twilight and her assistant stayed behind.

"I'm going to study for a bit. Call me if you need anything!" Twilight said.

Trixie looked around and said to herself, "You sure do love books, don't you."

Twilight, hearing this, turned around and said, "Oh, yes! I love books! I can't stop reading them! You can read some if you want."

"Thanks." Trixie smiled.

Twilight smiled, but then had a look of surprise and said "Oh! I almost forgot!"

She walked away and came back with a bag.

"I salvaged a few things from your wrecked caravan in case I ever saw you again. I'm afraid there wasn't very much." Twilight pulled out Trixie's hat and cape and her rose. Trixie was quite happy to see those items safe and sound. Twilight placed them on a table next to her bed.

"Thanks, Twilight. I… really treasure those things…" Trixie said with a smile.

"Anytime." Twilight smiled back.

Twilight walked away to begin her studies as Trixie laid back and looked at the rose sitting in the vase. She couldn't help but reminisce the time she found her cutie mark.

* * *

><p>Later on that day, Twilight sat on Trixie's bed with a plate of food levitating before her. Twilight used her magic to feed Trixie. Trixie felt a little embarrassed at having to be spoon fed everything, but she didn't say anything.<p>

"I don't really mean to pry, but how did you really fall from that cliff?" Twilight asked putting a spoonful in Trixie's mouth.

Trixie chewed on the food and swallowed it before responding "I told you, I just lost my way and accidentally fell off."

Twilight stared at Trixie as if she understood that if she was lying, she had a legitimate reason to hold back the truth; so, she changed the subject.

"So, what made you become a magician anyway?"

"Mostly because of my mom, I guess." Trixie said with a frown.

"Oh, have you heard from her recently?"

"No, no. She's gone now."

"Oh… I'm so sorry…" Twilight said with sympathy, "I didn't know. Did she… want you to become a magician?"

"Oh, no… it's nothing like that." Trixie responded, "When I got my cutie mark, I knew that I had to be a magician. But, she didn't support me that much, so I kind of ran away promising to her that I will prove to her that I would be a great magician. That was the last I ever saw of her…"

Trixie told Twilight more about her childhood. She seemed both fascinated and sorry for her. Trixie told her about her school life. She withheld information on the three unicorns that used to pick on her for fear of accidently letting Flourish Twinkle's story slip. She also told Twilight about her time after she ran away, about all the hardships that she had to go through to get to where she was.

* * *

><p>Afterwards, when Trixie finished her meal, Twilight Sparkle left to run some errands. That left Spike, her dragon assistant, to watch over her. Spike came thumping down the stairs in boredom and immediately saw Trixie.<p>

"So, where'd Twilight go?" He asked.

"She went out to do some things…" Trixie said.

"Oh…"

Spike hopped up on a stool and pulled down a book and started reading it. The room was dead quiet. Trixie looked around the room wishing she could use her magic to read one of the books out of sheer boredom, but she couldn't. Trixie stared at Spike trying to figure out what to do with him.

"Umm… Spike, right?" Trixie said.

"Yeah?" Spike said peering from behind the book.

"Why does Twilight study so much?" she asked.

"What you don't know? She's the closest student to Princess Celestia." Spike responded.

"Are you joking?" Trixie jerked up. A sudden jolt of pain caused her to cringe back.

"Yep."

"What's she doing in Ponyville? Shouldn't she be with the Princess?" Trixie asked.

"She's been assigned to do some 'special research' here." Spike said closing the book and tossing it aside.

"So… she's been in contact with the Princess?"

"She writes letters to her every day. I should know, because I send them."

"You're kidding!" Trixie said astonishingly.

"I'm not."

"What's she like?"

"Well…"

Trixie and Spike talked about Twilight and her job with the Princess. Trixie was incredibly shocked and fascinated with the fact that Twilight was as close to Princess Celestia as anybody can get. She was also slightly jealous of her, for everything turned out so well for Twilight while Trixie's life had been so miserable. She tried not to think about it and got to know Spike and his job a little better.

* * *

><p>Over the next few weeks, Trixie slowly started to heal. Gradually, Twilight unwrapped a cast when a part of her that stopped hurting. Trixie slowly regained her ability to move; she looked forward to the day where she could walk again.<p>

Trixie laid in bed, evening, with an open book in front of her on a stand. She was almost completely free from her casts. Three of her hooves, her back, and her horn were the only things left that were bandaged. She turned the page with her one good hoof to continue reading. She stopped to touch her wrapped up horn. She wondered if she would ever use magic again. Twilight Sparkle came down the stairs to greet her.

"How are you feeling right now, Trixie?" she said with a smile.

"A little better than before." Trixie said focused on her book.

"Good." Twilight said, "I'm going to head to bed now."

"Goodnight." Trixie said turning the page once more.

As soon as Twilight went up the stairs, Trixie yawned and closed the book. She figured she should go to sleep, too. She pulled the blanket over her and closed her eyes. An eerie wind blew against the window. Trixie looked around and saw that she was alone in the dark library. She closed her eyes again, only to hear a voice whisper in the room.

"Poor Trixie. Broken and defeated. Once great and powerful, now, she's once again cowardly and pathetic!" the voice whispered.

Trixie tried to convince herself that she was only hearing things and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes again and saw the mysterious pony in her hooded cloak and black bandages staring at her. Trixie cringed back in fear only to have a sudden jolt of pain in her hooves.

"Ow!" Trixie said.

The mysterious pony stared at Trixie with her cold blank stare and said "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"What do you want from me?" Trixie said with an irritated look.

"I came to check up on my poor wittle fwiend." The mysterious pony said rubbing her hoof under Trixie's chin.

Trixie shoved the hoof away and said "You're not my friend! You ruined my life!"

"I only wanted to help you, Trixie. Is that what you wanted? Help?" The mysterious pony said slightly mockingly.

"Help? Look at me! I'm recovering from an assault! An assault that would never have happened if it weren't for you!" Trixie said angrily, "Not only that, but you caused me to go so over my head, that I was out of control! And now all of Equestria is against me! It's all because of your 'advice'!"

"Oh? That was me?" the mysterious pony said with amusement, "Was I the one who claimed to have vanquished an Ursa Major for you? Was I the one who went around Equestria as if she was the greatest pony to ever life? Was I the one who drove Flourish Twinkle insane? No. That was you, Trixie. That was all you. The reason I tried to help you was because I know the pain that you have gone through, the anger, the hatred that built up inside you all these years. You had the desire to crush every pony in Equestria beneath your hoof! You wanted the love and respect that you deserved ever since your child hood, and I simple opened the path to you."

Trixie rolled over with indifference and stared at the ceiling and said "You don't know anything about me."

The mysterious pony climbed up on Trixie's bed and straddled her. She chuckled at Trixie and sat down on her crushing her front hooves in between. Trixie bit her lip in pain as the ghoulish mare lowered herself close to her face.

"On the contrary…" she said, "I know everything about you…"

Now, Trixie was frightened by this pony. She shivered in fear at her presence. That eye peering through the bandage that once provided her comfort and friendship, now pierced her very soul with its cold glare.

"W-who are you?" Trixie said in fear.

The mystery pony raised herself out of Trixie's face and gave her a look of amusement.

"You don't know?" the pony said, "I know your every thought, your every move, your every desire. Everything you feel, I feel. Everything you think, I think. Everything you do, I do as well. And do you know why?"

Trixie fearfully shook her head. The mysterious pony chuckled and put her hood down and started to unwrap those black bandages that covered her face. What she saw was a blue unicorn with a powdery white mane, it was as if Trixie was looking at a mirror image of herself! She had a twisted smile and the eyes of an insane pony.

"It's because I _am_ you!" The other Trixie said, "I am your anger! Your sadness! Your hatred! Your sorrow! Your pain! Your fears… I am in incarnation of all the darkness that has built up inside you for all those years."

"N-no…" Trixie said in fear.

"Yes." The dark Trixie said with a crooked smile, "And now… there's one thing for you to do… That purple unicorn!"

"Twilight?"

"Yes. Twilight Sparkle. She's the reason you're career was destroyed! She ruined your life! What are you waiting for? End her. End her life. Only in her death will you have vengeance!"

"Y-you want me to kill Twilight?"

"Yes! Kill her! Her death will bring misery to all those who are close to her! They will feel your pain, and you won't be alone anymore!"

"I… I… I can't kill her."

"And why not?"

"B-because… she… she saved me…"

"Oh… she saved you…" the twisted unicorn said mockingly, she lowered her head into Trixie's face, "Do you want to go back to being that miserable, lonely filly? Do you want ponies to laugh and make fun of you? Or do you want to show them your true power? Show them what happens when somepony messes with the Great and Powerful Trixie. Show them that you are no longer a sniveling coward!"

"No! I… I can't do it! It's wrong!" Trixie yelled.

"Kill her! Kill her!" The insane Trixie yelled.

"NO! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Trixie yelled with bloody murder.

"Trixie! Trixie!" a voice yelled.

"NO! STOP! GO AWAY!" Trixie yelled uncontrollably.

"Trixie snap out of it!" the voice yelled, "It's me! Twilight Sparkle!"

Trixie settled down and breathed heavily in fear. She saw the face of Twilight Sparkle looking at her in concern. Both her hooves were on Trixie's shoulders. Trixie looked around and saw her dark self was nowhere in sight.

"Are you alright?" Twilight said with concern, "I heard you yelling, so I came to check up on you."

"I… I…" Trixie said still shook up over the experience, "I'm fine. I was just having an awful nightmare…"

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Everything's okay…" Trixie said a little embarrassed.

"Okay, good." Twilight said with a relieved smile, "I'm going back to bed."

Twilight let go of Trixie and trotted back upstairs.

"Um… Twilight?" Trixie said nervously.

"Yes?" Twilight responded stopping dead in her tracks.

"Do you think I'm a bad person?" Trixie asked.

Twilight smiled comfortingly and said, "Nopony's truly a bad person. You're just a little misunderstood."

Trixie smiled with acknowledgement and Twilight went back upstairs. Trixie rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. The words of the mysterious pony echoed through her mind as she slowly drifted into slumber.

To be continued…


	6. Redemption

Chapter 6: Redemption

Twilight Sparkle was grasping Trixie's hooves as she laid in bed; all her casts but the one on her horn has been unwrapped. Trixie looked at Twilight nervously, she didn't think she could do it, but she knew Twilight had faith in her.

"Are you ready, Trixie?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know…" Trixie said nervously, "Remember the last time?"

"I believe in you, Trixie" Twilight said encouragingly.

Trixie took a deep breath and said, "Okay… I'm ready…"

"Alright! One… Two… Three!"

Twilight pulled Trixie out of bed. Trixie softly landed on her hoofs. Her legs shook as she tried to stand, but she eventually stopped them.

"You did it, Trixie! You're standing again!" Twilight said happily.

"I… I did it!" Trixie said excitedly.

"Okay, now try walking." Twilight said.

"Okay, here I go…" Trixie said nervously.

Trixie pulled out her front hoof and stepped on the ground with her hind hoof following. Her legs started shaking again and she was about to fall, but she quickly recovered and went forward with the other hooves. She slowly started walking away, but then got faster and faster. Finally, she was walking around the room at a normal pace. Suddenly, she started trotting around happily, as she finally regained her ability to move, only to fall flat on her face. Twilight immediately raced over to help her up.

"I did it." Trixie said.

"Um… why don't you wait a little bit to recover before you start trotting around…" Twilight said.

"Okay." Trixie said.

"Hey! Why don't I take you around town? Everypony would be thrilled to see you walking!"

Trixie agreed and followed Twilight outside.

* * *

><p>Trixie cringed at seeing the sun for the first time in weeks. Her eyes eventually adjusted, though, as Twilight gave her a tour of Ponyville. They walked around the town as friendly faces greeted them. Trixie never felt so safe in her life. Then, Rarity approached them.<p>

"Oh! Good afternoon, Trixie, dear!" Rarity said with a friendly face, "It's so nice to see you out and about!"

"Well, it wasn't easy getting out of bed." Trixie said.

"I should know." Twilight said.

"Well, we have a surprise for you, Trixie!" Rarity said, "Come on!"

"A surprise?" Trixie said.

"You'll see." Twilight said with a smile.

Rarity led Trixie and Twilight away.

* * *

><p>Trixie followed Rarity and Twilight to Sweet Apple Acres where they met Applejack bucking trees. When she saw the three, she immediately stopped and walked up to them.<p>

"I brought her, Applejack." Rarity said.

"That's great!" Applejack said, "Let's get started, then."

"Um… what is this all about, exactly?" Trixie said suspiciously.

"You'll find out." Twilight said with a smile.

She whipped out a piece of cloth with her magic and blindfolded Trixie.

"Hey! What's going on?" Trixie said.

"It's a surprise, Trixie!" said Twilight, "Don't worry, I'll guide you."

Trixie was hesitant at first, but she had grown to trust Twilight, so she allowed her to pull Trixie to wherever she was leading her. Eventually they stopped her and she waited a few seconds.

"Okay, Trixie, you can take it off now." Twilight said.

Trixie did as she instructed and took off the blindfold. She was greeted by a thunderous "SURPRISE!" Trixie could believe her eyes, every pony in Ponyville was inside the barn in Sweet Apple Acres and sitting right before her was her caravan, fully rebuilt good as new.

"Wha- My… did you…" Trixe couldn't find the words to convey her feelings.

"We all chipped in to rebuilt your caravan for you!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I tell ya, though, it wasn't easy." Applejack said.

"Well… what do you think?" Twilight said.

Trixie was so touched by seeing this that she started crying on the spot. This sent everyone in alarm. Twilight raced up to Trixie.

"What's wrong, Trixie? Are you okay?" she asked.

"Nobody's ever been this nice to me before…" Trixie said through her tears, "I'm so… happy…"

Twilight smiled and hugged Trixie.

"You have friends here, Trixie. We'll always be there for you." Twilight said.

Trixie looked at everyone with a smile. She was so happy that they were good to her, even after all that she had been through.

* * *

><p>Later on back at Twilight's house, Trixie was getting ready to leave Ponyville. She had on her hat and cape and had her rose with her. Twilight and Spike watched as she got ready.<p>

"Do you really have to go?" Spike said.

"Yes, I do, Spike. I'm a travelling entertainer, after all." Trixie responded, "But, I promise I'll come back to visit sometime."

"So, what do you plan on doing, exactly?" Twilight asked curiously.

"I'm probably going to end up starting from scratch. It won't be easy with my ruined reputation, but I'll manage it somehow." Trixie said.

"Well, good luck, Trixie." Twilight said.

"Thank you!" Trixie said as she went out the door.

As she walked outside, it suddenly started storming without warning. Rainbow Dash came swooping in as all the ponies fled indoors.

"Rainbow, what's going on?" Twilight said coming outside.

"Sorry, everypony! We had a surprise schedule today!" she said, "We have a lot of catching up on the weather, so it's going to be like this for the rest of the day."

Rainbow flew on home as Trixie started to get soaked from the rain. She looked at Twilight and Spike with a shrug.

"Hey, Trixie, why don't you stay here for one more night?" Twilight suggested.

Trixie thought for a moment and said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to stick around until the storm lets up."

Trixie walked back inside to take shelter from the storm.

* * *

><p>Trixie and Twilight sat at the table, Twilight was reading a book while Trixie was staring at her rose. Raindrops were pattering on the walls outside, it was dead quiet. Trixie rubbed the cast on her horn in anxiety.<p>

"It'll heal eventually." Twilight said, "You'll be able to use magic again soon."

Trixie stopped rubbing her cast and looked at her rose in guilt.

"I guess you've found out how pathetic I am, Twilight. I'm not as Great and Powerful as I said a while back…" Trixie said.

Twilight closed her book and said, "What are you talking about?"

"You know how I said I vanquished an Ursa Major. I couldn't even vanquish a baby…" Trixie said.

"Actually, Trixie, you're really good at magic." Twilight said.

"You're just trying to make me feel better." Trixie said with a dismissive smile.

"No, I'm serious! You actually displayed really skillful magic back there."

"Are you saying that I _could_ vanquish an Ursa Major?" Trixie perked up.

"Well… maybe not an Ursa Major," Twilight continued, "But you could have stood a chance against that Ursa Minor. You were just a little scared, that's all."

"Twilight, why are you so nice to me?" Trixie asked curiously, "I mean, I ridiculed your friends! I almost destroyed Ponyville! I practically embarrassed you!"

"First of all, Trixie, you didn't do any permanent harm to my friends. They recovered and forgave you, right?" Twilight said with a smile, "Secondly, the Ursa Minor wasn't your fault. Snips and Snails were just being stupid as usual. Finally, you did not embarrass me, I just didn't want my friends to think of me as a show off. You haven't done anything wrong, Trixie; you've learned your lesson, so all is well."

"That's what you think… She's still hasn't forgiven me…" Trixie said to herself quietly.

"She?" Twilight said.

Trixie then stared at Twilight nervously. But, she figured that she had to tell Twilight the truth, she did owe her that much, after all. Besides, she has grown to really trust Twilight, so she decided to tell her.

"Twilight… you want to know what happened to me, right?" Trixie said shyly.

"You already told me, you had an accident and you fell off the cliff!" Twilight said with a smile.

"Actually… that's not exactly true." Trixie confessed.

"Oh, really? What happened then?" Twilight said with interest.

"I… Somepony dropped me off the cliff." Trixie said.

"What? Who would do that to you?" Twilight perked up.

"I was walking down a path when two ponies came to me and dragged me into the woods," Trixie continued, "There I saw… her. Flourish Twinkle. She attacked me and dropped me off hoping to kill me."

"What? Why on Equestria would she want to kill you?" Twilight said in curiosity.

"She had every right to." Trixie said in sorrow, "She was one of the three unicorns who used to pick on me at school."

"Oh, now I understand."

"No, you don't. Flourish was the one who picked on me the least, she held back. It only took me up until now to realize that. When I ran away from home, I never saw her again in years. But, one day in Manehattan, I saw her again. She tried to reason with me, she tried to get me to remember who I was, but I couldn't forget how she and her friends used to treat me. I was so angry at her, so I attacked her; I attacked her and I couldn't stop. No matter how hard she begged, I continued on. Eventually I stopped and let her get out of my sight…"

"You… hurt her?" Twilight said in shock.

"I did more that hurt her, Twilight." Trixie continued, "I _broke_ her! She was committed to an asylum because of me! She went completely insane all because of me! What I did to her haunted me every day. I knew she could never forgive me. Maybe I shouldn't be here… maybe I deserve to be dead. She was right, Equestria doesn't need me."

"No, Trixie! No pony in Equestria isn't needed. Everypony is special in their own way." Twilight said trying to comfort Trixie. Trixie looked down at the floor in guilt, "Trixie, what you did was wrong. Anypony can see that, but it doesn't matter! You've changed, Trixie. You need to learn from the past and make up for it in the future. And who knows, maybe, just maybe, Flourish can forgive you someday, too!"

Trixie looked up and saw Twilight with a smile. Trixie couldn't help but smile back. She felt so relieved to get the truth off her chest. She knew that forgiveness from Flourish was totally far-fetched, but it comforted her that Twilight still sees Trixie as a friend despite her dark past.

* * *

><p>The rain continued on through the next day; it wasn't until the evening until it finally stopped. When it did, Trixie packed up her caravan to leave town as the sun was starting to set. All the ponies in Ponyville came to see her off.<p>

"Hey, Trixie! You come back to visit us, alright?" Rainbow Dash said.

"I promise." Trixie said with a smile, "I really appreciate you all doing this for me, I really do! Thank you so much for everything!"

"Aw, don't worry 'bout it, sugah-cube." Applejack said with a smile, "We jus' did what was right."

"You're always welcome here, darling." Rarity agreed, "So, if things get rough, you can always come back here."

"We'll be waiting for you with friendly hooves." Twilight finished for Rarity.

"I'll never forget what you did for me." Trixie said happily, "I'll come back and visit, goodbye!"

Trixie turned around and left as every pony in Ponyville waved her farewell, she never felt so happy that they awaited her return. She left with a satisfied smile.

* * *

><p>As the sun sank under the horizon, Trixie walked along a dark path. She wished she could still use magic, but she had to adjust to the darkness. Suddenly, she heard a faint thud on her caravan. She turned around and saw perched atop her caravan her evil self wearing her hat and cape, gazing at her with those cold eyes.<p>

"Leaving so soon?" she said.

"I'm not going to speak to you ever again." Trixie said trying to ignore her.

"So you're just going to run away? Run away from your own darkness?" her evil self said, "You truly are a coward."

"Why won't you just go away?" Trixie said in an irritated tone.

Suddenly, her evil twin spontaneously appeared before her and said, "Now, what good will that ever do you? Hm? Face it, Trixie, you need me. Without me, you have no direction."

"I don't need you! All you do is cause trouble for me!" Trixie said angrily.

"Oh? Feisty, are we? Good. Let your hatred build up! It makes me even stronger!"

Trixie ignored her and continued on.

"You can try to ignore me, Trixie. But I will always follow you and haunt you until the day you die!" the evil Trixie said.

"I won't do as you say! I'm doing things my way now!" Trixie snapped.

"You don't understand, do you, my dear? You don't have a choice!"

Enough was enough! Trixie freed herself from the caravan and tackled the dark Trixie, but she vanished and Trixie fell on the ground.

"Are you angry?" said the Trixie appearing behind her, "Do you hate me? Do you want to end me? Your anger will feed me and I will grow more powerful!"

"No! I won't listen to you! I'm through doing what you say! Now it's my time to rebuild my reputation and become the greatest magic user to ever live, the RIGHT way!"

"That will not happen!" the evil mare as she was enshrouded by darkness.

The dark mare's form twisted and grew in colossal size. Her shape became grossly deformed until she changed into a horribly disfigured Ursa Major. The dark Ursa gazed at her with hollow eyes with a mouth that seemed to lead into black emptiness as her form dripped onto the ground like melting ice. Trixie looked up in fear at the horrible beast as it lunged at her. Trixie dashed out of the way.

"My presence frightens you! You fear me! You are but a scared little child against the world!" the beast said in a distorted voice, "You are nothing without me! That's why you need me! Only the pain and misery of others will heal the wounds that THEY inflicted upon you, and I am the key to making that come true!"

"No! I won't hurt anybody anymore!" Trixie yelled.

Suddenly, the beastly bear snatched Trixie off the ground and crushed her within her grasp.

"Were you not listening before? I am the darkness that has built up inside you!" she roared, "I will devour you and control you until you are but a hollow puppet, a slave to my demands! It will all be easier if you just accept it!"

"No! I refuse to let you control me!" Trixie yelled.

"Insect!" the bear yelled as she smashed Trixie on the ground, "You're transformation will be slow and painful! Just know me as your master and obey me! It will all be over quickly!"

Trixie struggled to get up, but was too weak to.

"You have no reason to resist, Trixie." The Ursa Major said, "Nobody wants you! You are an outcast to society. You have no friends or family, and the world seeks to end your life. By submitting to me, you will show them how powerful you are! Face it, Trixie, you are alone! ALL ALONE!"

"You're… you're right… I am alone…" Trixie sobbed, "Nobody want to be with me. I'm just a lonely coward!"

"That's not true, Trixie. You're not alone." Said a familiar calm voice.

A hoof extended to Trixie and she looked up and saw Twilight Sparkle with a friendly smile.

"Twilight?"

"When we said we'd be there for you, we meant it." Twilight said.

Trixie looked around and saw that Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were all standing right beside her.

"You… you're all here… for me?" Trixie said.

"Of course we are, silly!" Pinkie Pie said, "We're friends, duh!"

"Yeah! We'll always stick with you no matter what!" Rainbow Dash said.

"We heard so much ruckus going on over hear that we had to find out what was going on." Rarity said.

"We're gonna teach that big ol' ugly thing a lesson it will never forget!" Applejack said.

"You… You really are all here for me!" Trixie said happily.

Twilight helped her up as Trixie turned around to face the Ursa Major. As her evil twin emerged from the head of the beast, she glared down at all of them.

"Don't fool yourself, Trixie." She said, "This is all but an illusion. They'll turn against you eventually and plot your downfall."

"I don't know who you are or why you look like Trixie, but we would never do that to her!" Twilight shouted.

"Yeah, you weird twisted thing!" Rainbow said, "Even though she showed us up a few months ago, I forgive her!"

"We all forgive her." Rarity said.

"No one treats my friends with cruelty and hatred, not even me." Fluttershy said.

"I'm not alone anymore!" Trixie proudly proclaimed to the dark bear, "I have my friends, there right here with me! They'll be there for me, and I'll be there for them, too! That's why I don't need you!"

"Very well, then." The evil Trixie said as she sunk into the Ursa's head, "Your 'friends' will perish an unimaginable fate. You will suffer in their deaths and will do my bidding, forevermore!"

"No! I'll destroy you before you do that!" Trixie said with fiery courage.

Trixie tried to use her magic. She didn't care if her horn hadn't healed yet, she had to try. The presence of her friends gave her enormous amounts of courage as they all stood beside her to take on the fearsome beast. Suddenly, the cast on her horn burst open and Trixie's fully healed horn glowed with irradiant energy. Trixie let loose a powerful flash of light that engulfed the terrible monster. As her dark self screamed out in agony, the light consumed her and obliterated her until she was no more. Exhausted by the massive amount of energy, Trixie passed out.

* * *

><p>Hours later, a pony passed by the group of unconscious ponies lying around in the middle of the path and stared at them. Trixie woke up and looked around and saw that her friends were waking up as well.<p>

"Whoa! Man! What just happened?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Was that you, Trixie? I didn't know you had it in you!" Twilight said.

"Neither did I." Trixie responded.

"Woo-hoo! That was fun! Do it again, Trixie! Do it again!" Pinkie Pie said bouncing up and down.

"Well, done, Trixie. You've been through so much." Said a voice.

Trixie saw all the ponies gasp and then bow down in respect. Trixie turned around and saw Princess Celestia staring at her with a smile. Trixie immediately jumped up and bowed down and said "Your majesty!"

Princess Celestia approached Twilight Sparkle and said "My dearest student! It's been too long."

Twilight got up and said "It's always an honor to see you, Princess."

"Is this the pony you've been writing to me about?" Celestia said.

Twilight nodded and said, "Yes! That is Trixie."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie, as I understand?" the Princess said approaching Trixie.

"Yes, your highness! Well… not really great and powerful anymore…" Trixie said.

"Don't be so modest, Trixie." The Princess laughed, "You've fought through so much to get this far in life. You always had a strong will, and you never gave up. I think you deserve such a fitting title."

"Yeah! You deserve it this time!" said Rainbow Dash flying up in front of Trixie, "'Cause you actually beat an Ursa Major this time!"

"That was not an Ursa Major." Princess Celestia said.

"It wasn't?" Applejack said, "Then, what was it?"

"This is a little hard to explain… but… that was me." Trixie said. Everyone looked at her in confusion, "It was all the darkness consumed inside me and taken physical form. She was all my hate, sadness, and fears combined into one. At first, I thought she wanted to help me… but, now I know she just wanted become a part of me and control me."

"So, that was your evil self?" Twilight said.

"You could say that." Princess Celestia said, "My sister befell the same fate as you did, Trixie. But you conquered your fears and faced up against it. With the help of your friends, you've overcome your darkness and destroyed it completely. Now, you are free."

Trixie smiled as Princess Celestia turned around.

"It's about that time again…" she muttered to herself.

Princess Celestia's horn glowed with brilliant beauty as the sun rose in the horizon.

"This day is for you, Trixie." She said to Trixie, "This is your day, a new day for you. Though your past contains all the experience that you have ever learned, it is all behind you now. This is the first day of your new future, Trixie. Use it to be who you want to become, blaze your own trail in life and make yourself a bright future."

"Princess… I…" Trixie looked back and saw all her friends smiling; Twilight Sparkle nodded with encouragement. Trixie looked at the Princess with a smile and said "Thank you!"

"Make the most of it." Twilight said.

Trixie smiled at her friends and went to her caravan and began pulling it down the path. Princess Celestia approached Twilight and said, "Well, Twilight? Do you have anything to report?"

"Yes, I do, as a matter of fact." Twilight said, "I learned that you should always be a friend to those in need, even if they've wronged you in the past. Sometimes, the best way of making friends is to be a friend yourself. And in doing so, you could change someone's life for the better."

As Trixie walked along the path, she stopped in the middle and got out her rose. She stared at it with a smile. Then, she went to the side of the road and planted it in the ground. She used her magic to put life into it and then walked away with a bright and happy attitude. The rose blossomed and eventually became the most beautiful garden in Equestria.

The

End


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